Aston Villa will put an extraordinary unbeaten home record against Nottingham Forest on the line when the two sides meet at Villa Park on Saturday.
Unai Emery’s side return to Premier League action after opening their Champions League campaign with a 3-2 victory over Club Brugge on Tuesday night.
Forest provide the next challenge, but history at Villa Park is firmly on Villa’s side.
Nottingham Forest have not beaten Aston Villa at Villa Park since October 1994.
Since that 2-0 defeat, Villa have gone 11 consecutive home matches against Forest without losing across all competitions, winning eight and drawing three.
That run now stretches across almost 32 years.
Aston Villa are unbeaten in 11 home games against Forest
The sequence contains Premier League, Championship and European meetings.
Forest’s last victory at Villa Park came on 22 October 1994, when Stuart Pearce scored a penalty before Steve Stone completed a 2-0 win for Frank Clark’s side.
Villa have not lost this fixture at home since.
Their 11 subsequent meetings at Villa Park are:
| Season | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1995/96 | Premier League | 1-1 |
| 1996/97 | Premier League | 2-0 Villa |
| 1998/99 | Premier League | 2-0 Villa |
| 2016/17 | Championship | 2-2 |
| 2017/18 | Championship | 2-1 Villa |
| 2018/19 | Championship | 5-5 |
| 2022/23 | Premier League | 2-0 Villa |
| 2023/24 | Premier League | 4-2 Villa |
| 2024/25 | Premier League | 2-1 Villa |
| 2025/26 | Premier League | 3-1 Villa |
| 2025/26 | Europa League | 4-0 Villa |
FBref’s historical record confirms the sequence, while the BBC had Villa at ten unbeaten home meetings before the Europa League semi-final in May.
Villa then extended it emphatically.
Villa thrashed Nottingham Forest on their last visit
Forest’s most recent trip to Villa Park will still be particularly fresh in both clubs’ memories.
The sides met in the second leg of last season’s Europa League semi-final on 7 May.
Villa entered the night trailing 1-0 from the first leg at the City Ground.
They responded with a 4-0 victory, reaching the final 4-1 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring, Emi Buendía converted a penalty and John McGinn struck twice in three second-half minutes. UEFA described the performance as Villa overturning the tie to reach their first major European final since 1982.
The result is also relevant given what happened in Bruges this week.
McGinn again opened the scoring as Villa beat Club Brugge 3-2 in their Champions League opener, continuing his habit of delivering on European nights.
Saturday provides a different challenge.
Nottingham Forest’s Premier League record at Villa Park
The league-only numbers are also heavily weighted towards Villa.
Forest have now failed to win on their last seven Premier League visits to Villa Park since the 1994 victory.
Villa have won the last six of those after a 1-1 draw in September 1995.
Recent results have been particularly convincing.
Villa beat Forest 2-0 in April 2023, won a 4-2 game in February 2024, secured a 2-1 victory in April 2025 and then won 3-1 in January this year.
Saturday will therefore be Forest’s third trip to Villa Park during 2026 alone following the January league meeting and May’s Europa League semi-final.
Villa won those two games by an aggregate score of 7-1.
Aston Villa need home record to continue
History alone will not solve Villa’s difficult Premier League start.
Emery’s side have collected just one point from their opening three league matches and are yet to score domestically this season.
Tuesday’s victory in Belgium finally provided the attacking breakthrough Villa had been searching for, with McGinn, Buendía and Nicolas Jackson all finding the net.
Forest therefore arrive at an interesting moment.
Villa have a formidable historical record in this particular fixture but still need their first Premier League victory of the new campaign.
The full Aston Villa fixture list confirms Forest visit Villa Park at 3pm on Saturday 12 September, before Emery’s side travel to Tottenham in their following league match.
Almost 32 years have passed since Forest last won this fixture at Villa Park.
Villa now need to ensure that run survives for at least another season.
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