Unai Emery has selected his team to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this afternoon (12:30pm)
11:18, 03 Jan 2026Updated 11:26, 03 Jan 2026
Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia(Image: Paul Currie/Shutterstock)
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has named his starting XI to take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
He has made four changes from the side which lost 4-1 at Arsenal as Matty Cash, Ian Maatsen, Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn all come into the team.
Emi Martinez starts in goal behind a defence made up of Cash, Ezri Konsa, Victor Lindelof and Maatsen.
Kamara partners Youri Tielemans in the double pivot, while McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia support striker Ollie Watkins.
Villa are targeting their 11th home win in a row this afternoon as they aim to return to winning ways following their first defeat in two months against Arsenal last Tuesday.
Villa are unbeaten in their last six Premier League home games against Nottingham Forest, winning the last five in a row. Their last defeat was in October 1994 under Ron Atkinson.
Meanwhile, no team have failed to score in more different Premier League games this season than Forest (10), while only Wolves (11) have scored fewer goals than the Tricky Trees (18).
Having been unbeaten in his first three Premier League away games against Villa (W1 D2), Forest boss Sean Dyche has lost his last two at Villa Park by an aggregate score of 7-2.
Villa starting XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Digne, Garcia, Carroll, Bogarde, Hemmings, Sancho, Malen, Jimoh-Aloba.
Forest starting XI: John Victor, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Dominguez, Anderson, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa, Jesus.
Subs: Sels, Morato, Awoniyi, Douglas Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Zinchenko, Savona, Abbott.
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