Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa: Match Preview, Tips & Odds

Stephen Welch / 7:00 PM GMT • 12th December, 2024

3 minutes

Here at betting.bet we’ll preview this Premier League fixture, providing exclusive betting tips, enhanced match insights and the best pre-match betting tips.

Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa meet at the City Ground on Saturday evening in an intriguing Premier League fixture. Both sides have made solid starts to the new campaign and will want to continue their push towards European qualification. Here at betting.bet we’ll preview this Premier League fixture, providing exclusive betting tips, enhanced match insights and the best pre-match betting tips from our betting partners at Betfred.

Form

Nottingham Forest are one of the season’s surprise packages and head into the weekend in fifth position in the Premier League. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have taken 25 points from fifteen matches so far and possess the league’s joint-third best defensive record with only Liverpool and Arsenal conceding fewer than the 18 goals shipped by Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest defied a run of three defeats in four matches with a deserved 3-2 win away at Manchester United last time out.

Visitors Aston Villa have put their own mini blip behind them to record three straight wins in all competitions. Unai Emery’s sider won back-to-back league games against Brentford (3-1) and Southampton (1-0) before edging a five-goal thriller in the Champions League with a 3-2 win away at RB Leipzig. Aston Villa have lost three successive away league games but sit behind Nottingham Forest on goal difference only having also earned 25 points from their first fifteen Premier League matches this season.

Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa: Head-to-Head

Nottingham Forest won 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season but that win at the City Ground represents their only win in eight matches against Aston Villa and their first in the top-flight since October 1994. The most recent meeting between the sides came at Villa Park in February 2024 with Aston Villa emerging 4-2 winners.

Betting Tips

Nottingham Forest are one of the few sides in the Premier League with more points on the road than they’ve earned at home, however their form at the City Ground has certainly improved in recent weeks. Saturday’s hosts failed to win any of their first three home league games but have since won three of their last four. This upturn in form coupled with Aston Villa’s Champions League rigours could give the hosts the edge on Saturday. Nottingham Forest are solid value at 13/8 to earn all three points.

Only Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer are the only three players with more Premier League goals than Chris Wood this season and Nottingham Forest’s leading marksman will inevitably attract plenty of interest in Saturday’s goalscorer markets. Wood is 7/4 to score at any time. Wood’s ten-goal haul in the Premier League this season includes the opening goal in five of Nottingham Forest’s seven home league games. You can back Chris Wood to score first on Saturday at superb odds of 4/1.

Jhon Duran has scored in back-to-back matches for Aston Villa including his wonder strike at RB Leipzig on Tuesday evening. If the Colombian international is given the nod from the start on Saturday he could prove a fine alternative to Ollie Watkins in the any time scorer market at odds of 21/10.

Ryan Yates is some way clear as the Nottingham Forest player to have committed the most fouls this season with 28 fouls conceded in his side’s first fifteen matches. The 27-year-old is the only player from either side to have committed more than 20 fouls. Yates is now walking a suspension tightrope with four yellow cards to his name but remains the most likely to find his name in the book. Ryan Yates to be carded is an intriguing betting option at odds of 21/10.

Match Odds