Credit: Imago
Wed 29 April 2026 6:00, UK
Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa in the first leg of their all-Premier League Europa League semi-final tie this week.
Forest have advanced to the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time since 1984 after beating Porto over two legs in the last round.
They are battling for survival in the Premier League as it stands, but have the chance to make history against Villa in the next 10 days.
The Villans thrashed Bologna 7-1 on aggregate in the quarters, but lost for the first time in six games last time out against Fulham.
This is undoubtedly one of Forest’s biggest matches in a long time, with Vitor Pereira set to field a full-strength side in the first leg of their clash in midweek.
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What channel is Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa on?
Villa beat Forest 3-1 on home turf back in January, while the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at the City Ground earlier this month.
They will face each other in the East Midlands for the second time this month on Thursday, 30 April, with the semi-final first-leg set to kick off at 8pm.
DateResult12 April 2026Forest 1-1 Villa3 January 2026Villa 3-1 Forest5 April 2025Villa 2-1 Forest14 December 2024Forest 2-1 Villa24 February 2024Villa 4-2 ForestForest vs Villa last five H2H
It will be available for viewers in the UK to watch live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and online on HBO Max.
Coverage of the game starts at 7pm, with highlights set to be available on the TNT Sports Football YouTube channel.
What are Opta’s predictions for Forest vs Villa first leg and progress to the final?
Sources have revealed to Football Insider that UEFA could act against Forest and ban them from competing in the Champions League if they win the Europa League due to Evangelos Marinakis’ ownership of Olympiacos.
Opta are currently predicting Villa to take an advantage into the second leg of their semi-final tie, with a 39 per cent chance of a win on Thursday, compared to Forest’s 35 per cent.
When it comes to making the final in Istanbul next month, Opta believe that Villa are much more likely, with a 61.93 per cent chance of progress, as opposed to Forest’s 38.07.
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