Nottingham Forest team news and predicted XI to face Aston Villa as Ola Aina replacement is found

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Nottingham Forest travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, looking to pull even further clear of the Champions League-chasing pack.

It’s been another dream week to be a Red after Forest beat Manchester United on Tuesday evening, creating a seven-point cushion for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in the Champions League qualification positions.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	30	22	7	1	70	27	43	73
2	ArsenalArsenal	30	17	10	3	55	25	30	61
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	30	17	6	7	50	35	15	57
4	ChelseaChelsea	30	15	7	8	54	37	17	52
5	Man CityManchester City	30	15	6	9	57	40	17	51
6	NewcastleNewcastle	29	15	5	9	49	39	10	50
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	30	13	9	8	44	45	-1	48

Anthony Elanga starred against United as Forest completed a first league double over the Red Devils since the 1991/92 season, meaning that Espirito Santo matched a Brian Clough achievement in the process.

Turning attention to Saturday, though, Forest will know that a win will go a long way to ensuring Villa cannot catch them in the European hunt, but the latest team news from the City Ground has made the task slightly harder.

Nottingham Forest team news vs Aston Villa

It wasn’t all bad news from the pre-match press conference as Espirito Santo confirmed Callum Hudson-Odoi will return for the trip to Villa, but other absences will be felt.

Chiefly, Ola Aina will miss the Villa clash after being taken off against United on Tuesday, meaning that the Forest manager will have to re-work his defence that has rarely been altered this season.

To complicate matters even further, Alex Moreno will also be unavailable for the trip to Villa Park as he cannot play against his parent club, meaning the obvious move of swapping Neco Williams to the right and playing the Spaniard – as was done when Aina went off against United – cannot be done.

Chris Wood wasn’t ruled out officially by Espirito Santo, who said that the Kiwi international is “getting better” after Wood was injured on New Zealand duty, leaving Taiwo Awoniyi as the sole senior number nine in the Forest squad.

With that in mind, Nottingham Forest News is predicting two changes from the side that beat Manchester United on Tuesday.

Nottingham Forest predicted line-up vs West Ham

GK: Matz Sels – Arguably the easiest name to pick on the teamsheet, Sels will of course start in goal against Villa after winning the club’s Player of the Month for March.

RB: Neco Williams – As he did against United after Aina hobbled off, Williams will be comfortable switching over to right back given his experience in the position. Before Williams played at left back against Ipswich, he was primarily seen as a right-sided fullback so expect no issues here.

CB: Murillo – Murillo is undroppable for Forest given how incredible he has been this season. Murillo signed a new Forest contract and will continue to show his worth against Villa.

CB: Nikola Milenkovic – The Serbian is the perfect partner for Murillo and will continue alongside him on Saturday, forming one of the Premier League’s most imposing defensive duos.

LB: Morato – Harry Toffolo is perhaps the obvious choice, but we believe that Espirito Santo will opt for Morato given the flexibility he offers for in-game tweaks. Primarily a centre-back, Morato has played at left-back for Benfica in his career so can fill in whilst also offering the option to switch to three at the back if required.

CM: Ryan Yates – Yates was exceptional against United and deserves to keep his place in the engine room as one of Forest’s two central midfielders.

CM: Elliot Anderson – Another ever-present, Anderson impressed against Brighton and was solid against United, justifying his place alongside Yates.

RW: Anthony Elanga – After his goal against United, the Swede will undoubtedly keep his place against Villa. Elanga produced Usain Bolt-esque pace against his former club and will need to do the same at Villa Park.

CAM: Morgan Gibbs-White – The creative spark that links everything together, Gibbs-White will be crucial if Forest are to continue to counterattack effectively on Saturday.

LW: Callum Hudson-Odoi – Hudson-Odoi missed Tuesday’s match due to personal reasons but after Espirito Santo confirmed his return for the Villa clash, we expect the ex-Chelsea winger to slot straight back in on Saturday.

ST: Taiwo Awoniyi – Awoniyi worked tirelessly against United and was clearly appreciated by the City Ground faithful as he continues to deputise for Wood up-front.