Updated Introduction: Champions League Boost for Villa
This article was updated on 17 September 2026 to reflect Aston Villa’s current form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Nottingham Forest. Unai Emery’s side have collected just one point from their opening three league matches. They are still searching for their first top-flight win of the season, and supporters are keen for a turnaround.
Domestic form has been sluggish, but Villa’s mood is lifted by events in Europe. On Tuesday night they beat Club Brugge 3-2 in the Champions League, with goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendía and Nicolas Jackson. That result sits apart from the Premier League table and does not change Villa’s league points tally. It does show that the squad Emery has assembled can perform under pressure, even while the league form catches up.
Nottingham Forest’s Record Winless Start
Nottingham Forest travel to Villa Park in worse domestic shape than their hosts. Oliver Glasner’s side have taken two points from three Premier League games, drawing with both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur either side of a defeat to Leeds United.
That run leaves Forest without a win in their opening three fixtures of a top-flight campaign for the first time in 36 years, since the 1990/91 season. It is one of the club’s worst starts to a season in the English top division in living memory. The run also puts real pressure on Glasner heading into this fixture. Two draws against strong opposition show Forest are competitive, but a first win is still missing from the record.
Villa Park Record Favours Unai Emery’s Side
History also sits firmly with Aston Villa. Nottingham Forest have not won a league match at Villa Park since 1994. That run stretches back more than three decades and covers multiple promotions and relegations for the visitors in that time.
Emery has used the transfer window to strengthen his options throughout the squad. It is part of a wider approach to Emery’s squad management that has reshaped the group over the past year. Villa go into this match with rebuilt squad options across the pitch. That gives the manager choices that were not always available in previous seasons, and it adds to the sense that history and current squad depth both point the same way.
Aston Villa vs Nottm Forest Match Context
Aston Villa go into the match against Nottingham Forest with the stronger recent form, despite sitting only one point above their opponents in the Premier League table. Villa have one point from three league games to Forest’s two. Emery’s team arrive on the back of a 3-2 Champions League win over Club Brugge, while Forest have lost their most recent league match, away at Leeds United.
The head-to-head picture also favours Villa. Forest have not won at Villa Park since 1994, and their winless start to this Premier League season is their worst in 36 years. Villa’s slow start in the league contrasts with their European form, where the win over Club Brugge showed McGinn, Buendía and Jackson all among the goals. That is evidence that quality exists within the squad even if the league results have not yet followed.
Both clubs come into the fixture searching for the same thing: a first league win of the season. For Forest, avoiding a fourth match without victory would ease growing pressure on Glasner. For Villa, ending their own winless run at home, where history is firmly on their side, would mark the start of the new campaign supporters have been waiting for.
What Happens Next
Villa’s attention now turns from European competition back to the Premier League table, where a first win of the season is the immediate priority. Their record against Forest at Villa Park, unbeaten since 1994, offers reassurance even after a difficult opening month domestically.
For Forest, the trip to Birmingham is a chance to arrest their worst start to a top-flight season in 36 years before the gap to the rest of the division grows further. Glasner will point to his side’s draws against Liverpool and Tottenham as evidence they can compete. A first win of the campaign, though, is still what his side needs most.
Full coverage of this fixture, including build-up and reaction, continues on Read Aston Villa. That coverage sits alongside our original article on Forest’s form, published earlier this month.
