Preview
Written by Yaro Pavlenko
Spreadex Sports previews the upcoming 2025/26 Europa League semi-final 1st leg between Premier League sides Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. The hosts have found a strong run of form at the perfect time as they have moved themselves further from relegation danger domestically and now are in with a chance of silverware and potential qualification for the Champions League next season.
Aston Villa meanwhile have had a strong domestic campaign and are well-placed to qualify for the Champions League through that pathway, but Unai Emery will look to leverage his Europa League mastery to bring a trophy to Villa this season, with the Spaniard having won this competition an incredible four times, including three years on the spin when he managed Sevilla!
Who will stake their claim in the first leg here and potentially put one foot into the final?
When is Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa? Thursday, April 30th 2026.
What time is kick-off for Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa?8pm, UK time.
Where is Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa being played? City Ground, Nottingham.
How can I watch Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa? Live on TNT Sports 1 from 8pm.
In terms of European form, both of these sides have had different paths to reach this stage, with Forest having a far more difficult journey. The home side had to overcome a penalty shootout in their tie with Danish side FC Midtjylland while they edged past Portuguese side FC Porto with a 1-0 home win after a 1-1 draw on the road.
Villa have looked imperious in contrast, beating Italian side Bologna with a 7-1 aggregate scoreline in the last round, along with a 3-0 aggregate scoreline over French side Lille in the round before that. With Unai Emery at the helm, is it perhaps no surprise that Villa sit as the outright favourites to win the competition.
WIN: Nottingham Forest 1-0 FC Porto. 16th April 2026.DRAW: FC Porto 1-1 Nottingham Forest. 9th April 2026.WIN: FC Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest. 19th March 2026.
WIN: Aston Villa 4-0 Bologna. 16th April 2026.WIN: Bologna 1-3 Aston Villa. 9th April 2026. WIN: Aston Villa 2-0 Lille. 19th March 2026.
To see all the Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa betting stats and form, visit our pricing page to view our Pre-Match betting stats table or hover over/tap the chart image to see previous outcomes for that particular market.
The Spreadex Sports fixed odds Match Odds betting prices have Forest as the 6/4 favourites to secure a first leg victory in front of their own fans while our 2 Up early pay out market, which pays out when a team goes two goals up, has the home side at 11/8.
Aston Villa meanwhile are available at 19/10 for the away victory (7/4 on our 2 Up market), with the draw at 11/5.
In the last five H2H meetings, Aston Villa have held the edge with three wins, while the last meeting less than two weeks ago ended in a 1-1 draw.
Eight of the last ten meetings saw Both Teams Scoring, and you can back Both to Score - Yes at 8/11 here. Six of those ten meetings saw over 2.5 goals scored, and Over 2.5 here can be backed at Evens.
Our football spread betting prices have the Goal Supremacy as Nottingham Forest/Aston Villa 0 - 0.2. This means if Forest won 3-1 (or by any other three goal margin), a 'buy' bet at 0.2 would mean a return of 2.8x your initial stake.
However, if you bought at 0.2 in Forest's favour and the match ended goalless, you would lose 0.2x your stake. Or, if Villa were to grab a 1-0 (or any other one goal margin) win, the market would settle negatively at -1 and a buy at 0.2 would result in a loss of 1.2x your opening stake.
You can calculate various make-ups by using our handy spread betting calculator, found here.
Our spread betting Total Goals line is 2.5 - 2.7. So a 2.7 'buy' bet would need at least three goals to be scored in the match to start turning a profit. Conversely, a 2.5 sell bet would need less than three goals to be scored in the match to turn a profit.
Remember that with spread betting, get the bet wrong and losses can exceed your stake/deposit. E.g. a 2.7 'buy' Total Goals bet would lose 2.7x your opening stake if the match ended 0-0, and so on.
We have several pre-built Popular Bet-Builders, including Chris Wood To Score & Elliot Anderson To Be Carded - 11/2, Elliot Anderson & Matty Cash Both To Be Carded - 15/2, Aston Villa To Win & Over 2.5 Match Goals - 18/5 and much more!
In terms of Price Boosts, Ollie Watkins to Score Anytime - NOW 12/5 and Chris Wood & Emiliano Buendia Both to Score - NOW 12/1! More Price Boosts for this one will be available closer to kick-off, so keep your eyes peeled on our pricing page.
Spreadex offers football spread betting prices on Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa, as well as traditional sportsbook/fixed odds prices.
Some of these markets include options such as Player Goal Minutes (the aggregate minutes of the goals scored by a named player in a match), Total Goal Minutes (the aggregate of the minutes of all goals scored in a match), Shirt Numbers (the aggregate of the shirt numbers of all goalscorers in a match), Bookings Points (based on 10 points per yellow, 25 per red), Corners, Time of 1st Match Goal, Match Performance and many, many more.
See our football spread betting education centre to see examples of how spread betting works, watch short explainer videos and try interactive betting widgets to see how win or loss levels work on different bets.
Remember that with spread betting, get the bet wrong and losses can exceed your stake/deposit so it's important you understand how each market works before setting an appropriate stake size for your bet.
Visit our football spread betting education area here.
Please note that this preview is not designed to offer any betting advice or suggestions. All prices quoted correct as of 1pm Tuesday 28th April. Price Boosts and other markets will be added closer to kick-off time.
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