Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest manger Vitor Pereira has been speaking to Sky Sports following the draw: "It was a good point, in a difficult game, against a very difficult opponent. There were opportunities from one side and opportunities form the other. In the end, I think one point is a good result.

"Aston Villa are a team that's not easy to control. They create some problems, but you try to face the problems and create your own chances. After the goal, it is about the character, confidence and spirit. We scored our goal and we had chances to score more goals, as did they.

"When we decided to bring on another striker, we wanted to win the game. Three points would've been better than one. We tried, but facing a strong team means in the end we have come away five games without losing.

"We are heading in the right way with the right spirit. It is important to get points in every game until the end of the season. We need to look [only at] ourselves and try to do our best to get points."

On Chris Wood's return: "His experience, quality and goals are important. He smells the goals in the box. He has the ability to help us."

Nottingham Forest goalscorer Neco Williams also spoke to Sky Sports: "We are pleased. Every point at this stage of the season is so valuable. We wanted three points, but Aston Villa are a top side. It is an important point.

"We knew we had to get the second goal and we did. We stuck together, it was a proper team performance and it was important to stick at it."

On relegation rivals Tottenham losing to Sunderland: "You don't want to look at the table too much because you want to focus on yourself. It's hard not to with the position we're in. Every game is a cup final for us. Every point is so important."

You can listen to Pereira and Neco Williams on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Five of Nottingham Forest's six Premier League home games in 2026 have ended level (L1). In fact, they have drawn more home games than any other team in the division this year (5).

• Since the start of 2023-24, Murillo has scored the joint-most own goals of any player in the Premier League (3 - level with Marc Guehi and Konstantinos Mavropanos).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira makes nine changes to the side which drew 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final first leg at Porto on Thursday.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo remain from the draw in Portugal while Elliot Anderson returns after missing the game through suspension.

Striker Chris Wood is on the bench having made his comeback after six months out in the week.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Hutchinson, Igor Jesus

Subs: Ortega; Morato, Wood, Ndoye, Domínguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa

Vitor Lindelof and Ross Barkley return for Aston Villa from their Europa League quarter-final win at Bologna.

Ezri Konsa and Emi Buendia drop to the bench for the visitors, who won their first-leg 3-1 in Italy on Thursday.

It is Lindelof's first Premier League start in three months while Barkley makes just his third Premier League start of the season.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Digne, Barkley. Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Konsa, Buendia, Garcia, Abraham, Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.

Image source, BBC Sport

There are four games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Crystal Palace v Newcastle United - Listen on Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa - Listen on Sports Extra

• Sunderland v Tottenham - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Manchester City (16:30 BST) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Sunderland v Tottenham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Manchester City".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Both of these teams played in Europe on Thursday night, but they will surely have at least half an eye on this game because it is so important at the top and bottom of the table.

At the top, Aston Villa are in the Champions League places and have a six-point cushion over sixth-placed Chelsea with seven games to go.

They beat West Ham United in their last game, after losing three in a row, and they would dearly love to hit a bit of form now.

Nottingham Forest got a massive win over relegation rivals Tottenham last time out, but they still have a lot of work to do to stay up.

It's a big boost that Chris Wood is back after six months out, but the 'Wood-chopper' will be rusty and it might be a while before he is back in the swing of things. I've chopped a lot of wood over the years and I know if your axe is left in the shed for a while, it loses its sharpness.

This is going to be an extremely tight game. A win would be huge for either team, but I'm going to say they will both have to settle for a single point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport journalist

Two potential Europa League winners meet in the top flight this weekend as Aston Villa make the short trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. BBC Sport explores some of the key themes.

Both sides have been straddling European endeavours with domestic duties this season and both will likely suffer from fatigue having each played tricky ties on the continent on Thursday.

Forest finding form

Europe has provided a welcome distraction from the Premier League for Nottingham Forest for most of this campaign but, under Vitor Pereira, they seem to be finding form at the perfect time.

Forest sit three points above the relegation places with seven games remaining but they have taken four points from the past two league games, including a huge 3-0 victory at relegation rivals Spurs in their last outing.

A creditable draw in Porto on Thursday night with a much-changed side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches and Pereira seems to be striking the necessary balance between European progression and Premier League survival.

A total of 36 points has been enough to guarantee survival in each of the past nine Premier League seasons and if that trend continues in 2025-26, the Tricky Trees require only four more points from their seven remaining matches.

One thing Pereira is yet to address is Forest's poor home run – they are winless in seven league outings in front of their own fans (D4, L3) and they have failed to score in each of their past three matches at the City Ground. Their last home league win was in 2025, 119 days ago versus Spurs.

Villa's recent struggles at Forest

Aston Villa resume their league campaign against a side they have historically enjoyed the upper hand against in the Premier League era.

The Villans have lost only three of their 17 Premier League meetings with Forest (W9, D5), however, two of those defeats have come at the City Ground in recent seasons and they have not won a top-flight match there since January 1995.

Villa will draw confidence from their 3-1 victory at Bologna in midweek. It was their third win on the bounce in all competitions and the club's eighth in succession in the Europa League this season, with Unai Emery's side putting one foot firmly in the semi-finals - where they could potentially meet Forest again at the end of April.

Ollie Watkins has seemingly responded to his recent England snub by finding his shooting boots and he has now contributed four goals in four starts across all competitions. Incidentally, his two goals on Thursday in northern Italy were his eighth and ninth Villa goals in a major European competition, equalling the club record first set by Peter Withe and matched by John McGinn.

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Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Steve Hodge says the next week is "huge" and that he wouldn't discount Porto in in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the City Ground.

Speaking on BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up and Show More Football podcast, Hodge said: "You get some strange results in the second legs of European ties at this stage in competitions because talented players have to go for it, managers are less coy and they give their flair players freedom to go and express themselves. I wouldn't discount Porto against us.

"The next week is huge. Aston Villa, Porto and then Burnley. If someone offered you two Premier League wins and getting through to the semi-final of the Europa League you'd obviously say 'yeah thank you very much' but Forest fans are not daft, they know it's going to be a fraught week.

"We're in good form, good fettle, we got a bit lucky in Porto but we'll take that."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira conducted his pre-match media duties for Sunday's visit of Aston Villa after Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg win over Porto.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, he said: "The moment of Aston Villa is not the same as Tottenham but, thinking about us, in our mind is to prepare, to compete, to get points because we need a good result. To have a good result is important, we need to be with fresh legs and fresh minds to face a strong team like Aston Villa.

"We need to face these games [Villa and the Porto second leg] in our best level, that's why it's important to balance the two competitions. Otherwise it would be impossible to move on."

On Villa, who also played in the Europa League quarters on Thursday; winning their first leg 3-1 away at Bologna, Pereira said: "If you are competing for the Champions League or struggling to keep a team in the Premier League it is a different challenge but it is not up to them, it is up to us. It is time to recover, time to unite the army with good spirit to play in our level against Aston Villa and try to win the game."

Speaking to the wider media, Pereira confirmed Chris Wood picked up no fresh issues after playing the first half against Porto in his first appearance for six months.

Pereira said: "Fantastic player, fantastic character. We will see next game. We try step-by-step to get the confidence and the shape.

"No injury, 45 minutes, next game we will see."

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Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw away at Porto in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Here are some of your comments:

Sean: The first 10 minutes felt like we were going to be overrun, especially after going a goal down. Then a ridiculous own goal gave us something to hold onto and we grew into the game. Bakwa showed some good signs and Ortega looked reliable in goal. We looked good going forward and rode our luck defensively at times. A good result to take back next week. The adventure continues.

Ian: In a word, gutsy. Once the defence shop was sorted it was a game straight out of the Brian Clough textbook. If we put out our strongest side at the City Ground we'll get through.

Zlurodivad: It is awesome to see Chris Wood back. He will get stronger and grow in confidence the more he plays.

John: We got a bit lucky with the strange own goal, but sometimes you need that kind of break. The first 20 minutes were dreadful, but the manager made some important changes, and in the end, we deserved the draw. Great to see Woody on the pitch again.

Dave: We were so bad in the first 15 minutes that I can let the Jesus disallowed goal go because we could have easily been 3-0 down by then. If Porto hadn't been so wasteful, we'd be sunk by now. A reality check for playing certain second string players in the latter stages of the Europa League, if we're serious about winning it. I would rather stay in the Premier League though.

Ian M: A strange game with us overwhelmed at the start, having a goal gifted to us and digging in. Everyone played a part - Ortega was excellent as was Abbott. Whilst we rode our luck at times we never stopped trying and the manager has certainly got the players playing for him. Well done to everyone and to the fans for their wonderful away support.

Shaun: We were riding our luck at times but to play a team that regularly gets into the European cups away from home to then come away with a draw is a job well done, especially as Vitor used our squad to its fullest. Vitor with a pre-season and a decent transfer window could build a good team for next season.

Nottingham Forest are yet to receive any formal bids for midfielder Elliot Anderson but the club are braced for offers before the 2026 World Cup, with Manchester City and Manchester United both interested. (Talksport, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Vitor Pereira's selection was questioned when the teams were announced.

Nine changes, Chris Wood starting after six months out injured and Nottingham Forest without the suspended Elliot Anderson.

At the final whistle, the head coach's plan had worked perfectly as Forest claimed an impressive draw at Estadio do Dragao to take into next week's second leg at the City Ground.

With Premier League survival on the line, Pereira had already dismissed talk of priorities in Portugal but it was evident there was already one eye on Sunday's Premier League visit of Aston Villa.

Porto boss Francesco Farioli made eight changes - as his team try to win their first title in four years - but it was Pereira who was the victor, even with a draw.

Nikola Milenkovic, Igor Jesus, Neco Williams, Omari Hutchinson and Ibrahim Sangare were all introduced in the second half as Forest consolidated the result.

They still rode their luck, early in the first half especially, and Stefan Ortega's late save from William Gomes ensured the positive result.

The only caution would be Forest have won away at Fenerbahce and Midtjylland in the knockout stage of the competition but lost at home.

But they beat Porto 2-0 at the City Ground in the group phase in October, Sean Dyche's first game of his brief spell.

Even before then, the aim was to win the Europa League and, after a draw in Portugal, Forest have moved a step closer.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira, speaking to TNT Sports: "A good result in my opinion. To face two competitions, we need to play with everyone. The players that started today did good work. In the end, 1-1, the game is open to play at home and decide qualification.

"Porto, playing at home are a strong team. They have momentum with supporters.. Forest, I try to balance the two competitions, it was very clear we played with nine different players to the last game. I think we did well. The players tried everything. 1-1 is a good result and playing at home we will see what we can do."

On Forest's disallowed goal: "It is better to keep the opinion with me."

On his squad depth: "The first two subs we did I was thinking about the next game against [Aston] Villa. It's very important for us to get points in the league and this is the only way."

You can listen to what Pereira had to say above or on BBC Sounds here

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest faced 16 shots in this match - their most in a Europa League game this season.

• Nottingham Forest have lost just one of their seven away Europa League games this season (W3 D3), while they've conceded just six goals on the road this term in the competition.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies

Former Chelsea defender Thiago Silva starts for Porto alongside ex-Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek.

Ex-Norwich City forward Borja Sainz is in attack for the hosts, who were beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest in October.

Porto XI: Diogo Costa, Fernandez, Silva, Bednarek, Zaidu, Fofana, Rosario, Gabriel Veiga, Sainz, Moffi, William Gomes

Substitutes: Ramos, Joao Costa, Kiwior, Froholdt, Pepe, Alberto Costa, Prpic, Varela, Gul, Tiago Silva, Moura, Mora

Chris Wood starts for Nottingham Forest after six months out injured.

The striker, who scored 20 goals last season, has not played for the club since Ange Postecoglou's final game in October, but returns in Portugal following a knee injury.

Dilane Bakwa, Dan Ndoye, Morato, Zach Abbott, James McAtee, Stefan Ortega and Ryan Yates also start in a much-changed line up.

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Morato, Murillo, Abbott, Bakwa, Yates, McAtee, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, Ndoye, Wood

Substitutes: Sels, Williams, Hudson-Odoi, Sangare, Igor Jesus, Lucca, Hutchinson, Milenkovic, Aina, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks

There are three Europa League and Conference League fixtures involving Premier League clubs on Thursday night - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Europa League: Bologna v Aston Villa - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Europa League: Porto v Nottingham Forest

• Conference League: Crystal Palace v Fiorentina

All kick-off times 20:00 BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentary on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Bologna v Aston Villa".

The Premier League's return this weekend brings trepidation for some and excitement for others.

Football's emotional rollercoaster becomes intense at this time of year, unless of course mid-table mediocrity has taken a grip of things in recent months.

So how are you feeling as a Forest fan with just a handful of weeks left to go?

The league form reads: DLLDDW

The next three league fixtures are: Aston Villa (h), Burnley (h) and Sunderland (a)

Let us know how you're feeling here