By Cole Gallagher / August 18, 2026
Premier League · Sept 12, 2026 · Villa Park, Birmingham · 10:00 AM ET / 3:00 PM BST
⚽ Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest ⚽
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Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest at Villa Park in a Matchweek 4 fixture that finds Unai Emery’s squad in about as depleted a state as it has been all season, while Oliver Glasner’s Forest arrive having strengthened at the back even without their first-choice striker. Here is our full breakdown, part of our ongoing coverage of the top bookmakers for backing every Premier League fixture this season.
Odds Comparison
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Both Teams to Score
Total Goals
Team Analysis
Aston Villa
Villa’s rebuild keeps hitting new snags. Amadou Onana is out for the season with an ACL injury, Alejandro Garnacho barely featured in preseason after a facial injury, and £59.5m signing Johan Manzambi has yet to train with the squad because of a knee issue. João Gomes and Brian Madjo added to that list after picking up injuries in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to PSG, with Madjo not expected back until September at the earliest and Gomes facing two to four weeks out. All of that comes on top of losing Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans over the summer. On the incoming side, Matteo Ruggeri is set to arrive from Atlético Madrid in a deal worth an initial €25m, and Villa are still pushing for a new right-back with Aaron Wan-Bissaka among the names mentioned, but reinforcements cannot arrive fast enough given the current injury list.
Key Storyline: Villa’s engine room and attack are both stretched thin, with Onana out for the season and Gomes, Madjo, Garnacho and Manzambi all short of full fitness
Nottingham Forest
Glasner has added defensive steel this summer with the £34m signing of Ousmane Diomandé from Sporting Lisbon, an Ivory Coast international who should bolster a back line that will be without striker Taiwo Awoniyi for a long stretch yet. Awoniyi is continuing his recovery after undergoing a second procedure this summer, and the club has prioritised his health over any firm return timeline. Elsewhere, Forest fended off Tottenham’s interest in Morgan Gibbs-White during the window, keeping their playmaker in place, and Forest also received a club-record fee when Elliot Anderson departed for Manchester City over the summer. Losing Awoniyi is a real blow up front, but Gibbs-White remains around to create for whoever leads the line.
Key Storyline: Forest strengthened at the back with Ousmane Diomandé and kept hold of Morgan Gibbs-White, even with striker Taiwo Awoniyi still a long way from returning
Key Betting Angles
Villa Park has generally been a difficult place to visit, and Emery’s side should still carry more individual quality than most of the league even in their current state. But the sheer volume of absences — Onana gone for the year, Garnacho and Manzambi both short of sharpness, and now Gomes and Madjo added to the list — is hard to ignore against a Forest side that has actually strengthened its defence this summer. Forest travelling without Awoniyi is a real handicap of their own, but Gibbs-White gives them enough of an attacking outlet to make this a genuine road opportunity rather than a formality for the home side.
We are tracking the full Premier League Matchweek 4 slate, plus everything else on the board, over on worldcupbetting.ca.
Our Prediction
Cole’s Pick: Nottingham Forest to win
Villa’s squad still has more talent on paper, but paper has not counted for much given how many bodies Emery has lost in midfield and attack heading into this one. Forest are missing their own key piece up front in Awoniyi, but Diomandé’s arrival gives Glasner a sturdier base to work from, and Gibbs-White remains capable of unlocking a Villa defence that has its own injury questions. We are backing the visitors to take advantage of Villa’s depleted squad at Villa Park.
Confidence: low-medium, Villa’s home advantage keeps this from being a stronger lean given how many players Emery is missing
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Cole Gallagher covers soccer betting for WorldCupBetting.ca, specialising in match predictions, odds analysis and tournament futures. Based in Toronto, he has followed the Canadian men’s national team since their 2022 qualifying campaign and brings a line-shopping, data-first approach to every pick.