The match has ended with Aston Villa defeating Nottingham Forest 3–1. Below is a summary of how the game unfolded.
Match Events
Aston Villa were eager to respond after their 11-match winning run was halted by Arsenal in their previous outing. They did just that by stretching their unbeaten home streak at Villa Park to eight games, briefly moving above Manchester City into second place in the Premier League standings.
Despite controlling 79 per cent of possession in the first half, Villa initially struggled to turn dominance into chances, managing just one shot on target. That changed moments before half-time when Ollie Watkins unleashed a powerful strike into the top corner.
Watkins, who has found form after a slow start to the campaign with four goals in three matches, had earlier squandered a clear opportunity in the second minute. He made amends for the miss—valued at 0.61 xG—by scoring from distance to give Villa the lead.
Shortly after the interval, captain John McGinn doubled the advantage, but the tempo dropped and the Villa Park crowd was momentarily silenced when Morgan Gibbs-White reduced the deficit for Forest just after the hour.
Any hopes of a Forest comeback were dashed when goalkeeper John Victor strangely charged out of his box in an attempt to challenge McGinn. The Villa captain took full advantage, curling in his second goal of the match from long range with the net unguarded.
The victory opens up a 12-point cushion for Unai Emery’s side over fifth-placed Chelsea. Meanwhile, Forest’s fourth consecutive loss leaves them hovering just above 18th-placed West Ham ahead of their clash, live on Sky Sports, on January 6.
Forest’s previous visit to Villa Park in April saw them sitting third in the table. In less than nine months, they have gone from pushing for Champions League qualification to battling to avoid relegation.