Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest kicks off at Villa Park at 3pm on Saturday 12 September, with Unai Emery’s side chasing a 12th successive unbeaten home meeting against the visitors. This preview was refreshed on 2 October 2026 to confirm every date, score and figure below remains accurate ahead of kick-off.
Villa have not lost to Forest at Villa Park since October 1994. That run now stands at 11 consecutive matches across all competitions, made up of eight wins and three draws. It is one of the most one-sided streaks in the club’s history, and it frames everything about Saturday’s build-up.
Nottingham Forest’s last victory at Villa Park
Forest’s only win at Villa Park in three decades came on 22 October 1994. They won 2-0, with goals either side of half-time settling the contest. Stuart Pearce opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Steve Stone added the second. It remains the last time Forest left Villa Park with all three points.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest head-to-head record
The Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest head-to-head record at Villa Park has swung firmly in the home side’s favour since that 1994 defeat. Villa have won eight and drawn three of the 11 meetings that followed, without losing once. Saturday’s fixture is their chance to make it 12 without defeat.
Readers who want the fuller history behind this rivalry, including earlier meetings and context, can revisit our original head-to-head analysis, which this update builds on.
Recent form and European momentum
Villa arrive in contrasting form across competitions. In the Premier League, they took just one point from their opening three matches and failed to score in any of them, a slow start given their recent record under Emery.
Things picked up in midweek, when Villa won 3-2 away to Club Brugge in their opening Champions League group match. It was a much-needed response, and some of the credit for how quickly this squad has turned games around traces back to Emery’s squad management strategy over the past year.
Forest also travel with a recent reminder of Villa’s quality against them. On 7 May, Villa beat Forest 4-0 in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final, completing a 4-1 aggregate win on the way to lifting the trophy.
What happens next
Saturday gives Villa the chance to stretch their home unbeaten run against Forest to 12 matches while looking to build on the Brugge result with a first Premier League win of the season. A win would also ease some of the pressure built up during that goalless opening to the campaign.
Supporters planning ahead should also note upcoming fixture scheduling changes, with several November matches already rearranged for television. For now, attention stays on Villa Park and a record Forest have not broken since 1994.
