The second leg of the Europa League semi final between Aston Villa and Notts Forest takes place on Thursday, Forest are 1-0 up but this time they do the traveling.
Aston Villa
Last week’s first leg in Nottingham saw Forest run out 1-0 winners. A penalty from Chris Wood on 71 minutes was the only goal of the game which saw Forest register 5 shots on target to Villa’s 4 whist Villa were awarded 7 of the 12 corners. Villa also picked up the only yellow card of the game.
Villa’s quarter final match up with Bologna turned out to be a one sided affair. They took control of the tie with a 3-1 win in the first leg away from home (Konsa and a brace from Watkins) and finished the job with a 4-0 home win (Watkins, Buendia, Rogers and Konsa).
In the Round of 16 Villa won both legs of their match up with Lille, 1-0 away from home and 2-0 in the return at Villa Park. They came through the League Phase with a fair degree of comfort, winning 7 and losing 1 to qualify automatically in second spot. Their only blip came on Matchday 6, a 2-1 defeat away to GA Eagles.
In the EPL Villa lost 2-1 at home to Spurs last weekend but they remain in fifth place (good enough for Champions League qualification next season) and they are 6 points clear of sixth placed Bournemouth with 3 rounds of matches to go.
Notts Forest
Forest booked their semi final berth with a 2-1 aggregate win over FC Porto. The first leg in Portugal finished all square at 1-1 and Forest were behind early but a freak own goal soon squared things up and that’s how it finished. The return in Nottingham saw Porto reduced to 10 men early on and Gibbs-White scored the only goal of the game shortly afterwards to send Forest through.
Forest won 4, drew 2 and lost 2 of their matches in the League Phase to finish in the play off places in thirteenth. They faced an awkward looking play off against Fenerbahce but a top display delivered a 3-0 win away from home in the first leg and although they lost the return 2-1 they had dome enough. In the Round of 16 Forest lost 1-0 at home to Midtjylland but they won the second leg 2-1 to force extra time and eventually came through on spot kicks.
In the EPL Forest were 3-1 winners at Chelsea on Sunday and they are unbeaten in their last league outings. They are currently fifth from bottom, 6 points clear of third bottom West Ham and 5 better off than Spurs with 3 rounds of matches to go.
These teams have met twice in the league with Villa winning their home game 3-1 in early January and they drew 1-1 in Nottingham as recently the 12th April.
The Betting (Regulation Time):
Villa are 8/11 to win the second leg with the draw at 28/10 and Forest can be backed at around 36/10
A game of 3 goals or more in total is priced at 5/6 and it’s a very similar price for both teams to score.
To qualify for the final via any method Villa are 21/20 and Forest are 15/20
The Verdict:
The winner of this tie will come up against Braga or Freiburg in the final and Braga lead that tie 2-1 but Freiburg have home advantage in the second leg.
Forest are in such good form right now and I can see them making this really tough for Villa on the night. It’s nicely balanced though and it should be a rip roaring contest. Although we saw just one card in the first leg I fancy both sides can pick up 2 or more here.
Bet: Both teams to pick up 2 or more cards? Yes at 12/10 with Sportingbet
Note odds quoted are subject to change