- Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final at Villa Park
- Glenn Nyberg has been appointed referee for the match
- The final takes place in Istanbul on May 20th
Aston Villa will have to overturn a one-goal deficit on Thursday night, should they want to reach the Europa League final on the 20th May. They are currently in a poor run of form, whilst Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last ten.
The atmosphere at Villa Park is expected to be electric, as the home faithful look to drag their side into the final.
In the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, Chris Wood’s penalty proved decisive after Lucas Digne was penalised for handball. It was an otherwise even contest, but Nottingham Forest did enough to edge ahead and take a valuable one-goal lead back to Villa Park.
Since then, the two teams had very contrasting results on the weekend. Emery made seven changes to his starting lineup, prioritising this fixture. His side were easily beaten by Tottenham in a flattering scoreline of 2-1.
It was one of their worst performances of the season, showing no fight, intensity or passion. If they are to be victorious on Thursday, then they must deliver a performance that is the complete reversal of what they displayed on Sunday.
Midfield control will be paramount; Villa cannot afford to be as wasteful in possession as they were against Spurs.
Forest meanwhile, comfortably defeated Chelsea 3-1 away from home, despite making eight changes themselves. Vítor Pereira’s side will be full of confidence and belief that they can purchase their ticket to the final with another grit of a performance.
Let’s take a look at the match officials for Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest:
Who is the referee for Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest?
Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg has been appointed referee for the fixture. He has never officiated a game for Villa, but was the fourth official in their semi-final second leg in the Europa Conference league against Olympiacos.
This season he has refereed twice in the Europa League, and five times in the Champions League. He has handed out twenty yellow cards, one red card, and awarded two penalties.
Who are the assistant referees and VAR?
Nyberg assistant are fellow countrymen Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderkvis, with the Slovenian Rade Obrenovič as the fourth official.
On VAR duty is Jérôme Brisard, alongside Willy Delajod, who are both from France.
