Predicted Lineups Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa May 2026 – The 2025/2026 Europa League semi-finals present an all-English clash that is guaranteed to be highly intense.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will face each other in the first leg to compete for a place in the final.

This match is scheduled to take place at City Ground on Thursday, 30 April 2026 at 08.00 PM local time.

The winner of this highly anticipated two-legged tie between two former European Cup champions will face Braga or Freiburg in the final at Besiktas Park, Istanbul, on 20 May.

Before this match begins, let us take a look at Mansion Sports’ prediction for the Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa lineups for May 2026 below!

Team News Ahead of the Match

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest enter their first major European semi-final since 1984 with high confidence after surprising many with a dominant 5-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League last Friday.

That result extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches, consisting of five wins and three draws.

Vítor Pereira has successfully restored a positive atmosphere at City Ground. The Tricky Trees now hold an advantage in their battle to avoid relegation, as they sit five points above the relegation zone with four league matches remaining, including an away fixture against Chelsea next week.

Forest now shift their focus to the first all-Midlands clash in UEFA competition history, as well as the first all-English semi-final since Manchester United defeated Arsenal in the 2008-09 Champions League semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the most recent all-English Europa League match took place last season, when Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the final.

After finishing 13th in the league phase with four wins, two draws, and two defeats, Forest eliminated Fenerbahce, Midtjylland, and Porto to reach the Europa League semi-finals. They defeated Porto 2-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals earlier this month.

The Tricky Trees, who won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough, failed to defeat Aston Villa in both Premier League meetings this season.

However, they have positive momentum with an unbeaten record in their last four home matches against The Lions, with two wins and two draws, including a 1-1 result at City Ground on 12 April.

Aston Villa

After reaching the Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and the Champions League quarter-finals last season, Aston Villa, who are among the favourites in the Europa League, now hope to reach their first European final since defeating Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final under Tony Barton.

Villa are now managed by the experienced Unai Emery, who recently made history as the fastest manager in club history to reach 100 wins, achieving the milestone in just 181 matches.

The Spanish coach is also the only manager in Europa League history to win the competition four times, three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.

Emery has emphasized that winning the Europa League this season is extremely important for Aston Villa. They are currently the highest-scoring team in the competition with 24 goals, one ahead of Nottingham Forest, who have scored 23 goals. Villa also lead the clean sheet standings alongside Braga, with seven each.

Villa finished second in the league phase with 21 points, level with Lyon at the top of the table, following seven wins and one defeat. They then eliminated Lille and Bologna in the knockout rounds, including a commanding 7-1 aggregate victory over Bologna in the quarter-finals.

However, the Midlands side arrive for the first leg following a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League last weekend.

That defeat dropped them to fifth in the standings, but Champions League qualification can still be secured this weekend if they defeat Spurs and sixth-placed Brighton fail to win.

Predicted Lineups Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa May 2026

Nottingham Forest (4-4-2)

Regarding the home squad condition, Nottingham Forest will definitely be without Callum Hudson-Odoi, Murillo (hamstring), John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Willy Boly (all knee injuries), and Luca Netz, who is ineligible to play. Meanwhile, Jair Cunha remains doubtful after suffering a shoulder injury against Sunderland.

Morato is expected to return to the starting lineup in central defence alongside Nikola Milenkovic. Vítor Pereira is also considering replacing goalkeeper Mats Sels with January signing Stefan Ortega, who has featured in Forest’s last three Europa League matches.

Morgan Gibbs-White is currently in excellent form, having scored five goals in his last three matches across all competitions.

He is expected to remain on the left side of midfield if Pereira continues with the Chris Wood and Igor Jesus partnership in attack. Jesus is currently the joint-top scorer in the Europa League with seven goals.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)

Meanwhile, Aston Villa remain without Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Alysson (unspecified). Amadou Onana will also undergo a late fitness test after missing the defeat to Fulham due to a knee issue.

Lamare Bogarde is the leading candidate to continue in midfield alongside Youri Tielemans if Onana is not fit enough. Ross Barkley and former Forest player Douglas Luiz are also alternative options for Emery.

Ollie Watkins is in strong form after scoring three goals in his last two Europa League away matches and is expected to remain the main striker.

Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, and Emiliano Buendia will provide support behind the forward. In defence, Ian Maatsen and Tyrone Mings are likely to return to the starting XI.

This match is guaranteed to be an exciting encounter as both teams possess strong European history and major motivation to reach the final.

Nottingham Forest arrive with positive momentum, while Aston Villa have experience and solid squad depth. This first leg will be crucial in determining both teams’ path toward the Europa League final.