Nottingham Forest take on Aston Villa in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals tomorrow evening.
Vitor Pereira’s side head to Villa Park with a 1-0 aggregate lead, so they have every reason to be confident of reaching the final.
However, Nottingham Forest may be without their talisman Morgan Gibbs-White, who faces a late test to be fit after his head injury against Chelsea.
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Ahead of the clash, Paul Merson has given his prediction, and it will certainly be music to the ears of Forest supporters.
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Paul Merson would be ‘shocked’ if Nottingham Forest don’t reach Europa League final
It’s set to be an electric atmosphere at Villa Park on Thursday evening, so Nottingham Forest may have to weather an early storm.
Villa fans were furious at their side’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, so they’ll be expected to bounce back with a positive reaction.
However, despite that, Merson has admitted he would be ‘shocked’ if Forest don’t advance to the final of the competition.
“Forest won the first leg and I saw them at Chelsea, who were dreadful, but they were really good at Stamford Bridge,” Merson told Sky Sports.
💪Another two goals for Taiwo Awoniyi and now a discussion needs to be had…
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“They are hitting their straps at just the right time. They were outstanding against Chelsea and that wasn’t even their first-choice XI.
“Then they brought on five first-team players and they were outstanding. They played with pace and tempo, and they moved the ball around really well. They are playing with a lot of confidence right now.
“Because of that, now I’d be shocked if Aston Villa went through after watching the two teams in the last couple of days.”
Merson also added that he’s really enjoyed watching Forest in recent weeks, with two strikers playing up front together.
“I love the fact they play with two strikers and teams haven’t got a clue of how to cope with it.”
“Defenders nowadays have played all their careers against just one striker, with one marking and one dropping off. But all of a sudden they come up against two strikers and they haven’t got a clue. They both have to mark someone and stay occupied.
“It’s really blowing teams apart and I love it.”
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