Premier League: Lions Hunt Through the Tricky Trees

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest were successful in their recent Premier League bouts, and both outfits aim to go on a winning streak for different reasons.

The Lions need to string up consistent top-flight wins if they’d want to qualify for European competition next season, while Nottingham Forest need as many points as possible to stray away from being a relegation candidate.

All eyes will be on the duel between Ollie Watkins and Callum Hudson-Odoi this coming matchday, as both forwards have been automatic for the past few weeks.

Forest’s win against West Ham proves that they’re capable of winning against higher-ranked outfits at any given night. Can they repeat their performance against Villa? We shall see.

Talking Points

Villa are poised for the Champions League

Aston Villa missed out on the Champions League and the Europa League after finishing in seventh place last season. They instead participated in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, but their campaign abruptly ended after an uninspiring run.

This year, Unai Emery and his men are no longer fit for the category of a midfield team, as they rub elbows with the best teams in the upper echelon of the Premier League table.

Their win at Craven Cottage last week propelled them to the fourth spot in the league standings, granting them qualification for the Champions League next season if they maintain their position until the end of the campaign.

But with 13 top-flight matches left in the season and Tottenham breathing down their necks, the Villans are definitely not out of the woods yet. They would need to garner winning Premier League 2024 results on a consistent basis, which is something they have struggled with since the start of the new year.

Emery and his outfit have a great opportunity to tally a win streak, as they face struggling Nottingham Forest and Luton Town in their next ties before braving Tottenham and West Ham.

Expect the Villans to rely on their new acquisitions and on their golden boy, Ollie Watkins, to spearhead their charge. Watkins has been nothing but stellar for Aston Villa this season. His brace against Fulham last week not only led the Villans to a win, but it also propelled the 28-year-old to the fourth spot in the Golden Boot race. Watkins now has 13 goals to his name; only Solanke, Salah, and Haaland have more goals than the Villa forward thus far.

Winning 60 per cent of their matches thus far in the most stacked top flight in the football world justifies that the Villans are Champions League material, and they could be in for a dominant night against the struggling Nottingham Forest.

Hudson-Odoi comes in big for the Tricky Trees

Nottingham Forest are still treading above the relegation zone, and thanks to their upset win against West Ham United, the Tricky Trees live to fight in the Premier League another day.

Callum Hudson-Odoi has been the man of the match for Forest for the past few weeks, as he’s currently carrying the offencive load for Nuno’s system. 

The former Chelsea academy standout gave Forest a fighting chance against Newcastle last weekend by scoring a timely goal right before halftime, but Bruno Guimaraes quickly answered with a goal in minute 66 to give Newcastle the lead and the win.

Hudson-Odoi’s efforts against the Magpies went down the drain, but it didn’t stop him from bringing the same intensity against West Ham a few days ago. The 23-year-old led Forest’s final third to attempt 19 total shots, with eight shots on target.

Forest hosted West Ham as the Premier League 2024 underdogs, but it didn’t stop them from dominating the offencive side of the field. Taiwo Awoniyi scored the go-ahead goal, while Hudson-Odoi sealed the deal with an added-time goal.

Their efforts against West Ham just prove that the Tricky Trees are always looking to compete, even though the odds are stacked against them. And when Hudson-Odoi is having a hot stretch like this, they can pull off an upset against any team in the Premier League.

History

If history repeats itself, then it’s wise to expect a high scoring match between these two outfits. In 17 matches, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have tallied a total of 53 goals, with Villa netting 29 goals and Forest netting 24 as well.

In terms of head-to-head results, they’ve tallied a total of eight draws since 1995. The Lions have more wins with six, while Nottingham Forest boast three wins of their own.

The last time they faced each other was in November 2023, when Forest bossed Villa with a 2-0 clean sheet defeat at City Ground.

Betting Tip

As stated above, these outfits have an act of scoring against one another whenever they share the pitch, which is why punters should consider the middle line of their Over/Under offers.

Their main lines, on the other hand, have Aston Villa as the heavy favourites at 1.51, while Nottingham Forest are the underdogs at 5.00 with a price of 4.13 to draw.

SBOTOP is on point with their prices, as usual. And in my opinion, Aston Villa at 1.51 is the way to go. In line with that, my betting tip is their Asian Handicap of -1.00 at 1.93. Aston Villa are playing much better this season and are in the upper tier of the Premier League.

To give them a -1.00 handicap at 1.93 against a relegation candidate team like Nottingham Forest seems like a bargain.

 

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