Nottingham Forest will arrive at Villa Park on Saturday still searching for their first Premier League victory of the season after making their worst winless start for 36 years.
Aston Villa return to domestic action buoyed by Tuesday night’s 3-2 Champions League victory over Club Brugge.
Their next opponents have endured difficulties of their own.
Forest have collected just two points from their opening three Premier League matches, losing to Leeds United before consecutive draws against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
It is the first time since 1990/91 that Forest have failed to win any of their opening three top-flight matches.
Nottingham Forest results so far
Oliver Glasner’s side have started the league season:
| Fixture | Result |
|---|---|
| Nottingham Forest vs Leeds | 0-1 |
| Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest | 2-2 |
| Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham | 0-0 |
That leaves Forest with two goals scored and three conceded after three matches.
The opening-day defeat against Leeds was followed by a much-improved performance at Anfield.
Dan Ndoye put Forest ahead before Morgan Gibbs-White converted a penalty to restore their advantage in the second half, only for Liverpool to equalise eight minutes from time.
Forest then had reason to feel frustrated against Tottenham.
Forest denied first win by VAR
Neco Williams appeared to have scored the decisive goal against Spurs when he bundled the ball over the line midway through the second half.
VAR intervened and ruled the effort out for handball.
Glasner was unhappy with the decision, arguing that the available pictures did not provide sufficiently clear evidence to overturn the on-field call.
The underlying performance nevertheless offered some encouragement.
Forest had 12 shots to Tottenham’s 11 and registered the only two shots on target of the game.
They also limited Spurs to no efforts on target.
That should provide Villa with a warning despite Forest’s winless start.
Aston Villa face another organised defence
Villa have already experienced problems breaking down compact opponents this season.
Emery’s side managed only one shot on target across their opening three Premier League matches before their dramatic attacking improvement in Belgium.
That changed against Club Brugge, where Villa scored three times during an excellent first half.
Our analysis of Villa’s attacking transformation against Club Brugge explains how quicker forward passing and more runs behind the defence helped change the picture.
Forest are unlikely to offer exactly the same spaces.
Glasner’s team frustrated Tottenham, defended their penalty area effectively and conceded only twice at Anfield despite Liverpool applying late pressure.
Villa may therefore require more patience at Villa Park.
Both teams searching for first Premier League win
Saturday’s meeting now has extra significance for both clubs.
Villa have one point from three league matches, while Forest have two.
Neither has won in the Premier League this season.
Emery at least enters the fixture with confidence restored after Villa finally found the net in Bruges, with John McGinn, Emi Buendía and Nicolas Jackson all scoring.
Forest must instead turn improved performances into victories.
Our Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest H2H guide shows that Villa also possess a formidable historical record in this fixture at Villa Park.
Forest have not won there since 1994.
Their more immediate problem is ending a winless beginning to 2026/27 that has now become their poorest start of its kind for 36 years.
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