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2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 31
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
Villa Park
Birmingham, England
Saturday, 5 April 2025
Kick-off is at 18h30
Nottingham Forest will look to cement their place in the
Premier League's top four when they head to the West Midlands for a meeting with Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday, April 5 in the late kick-off.
The Tricky Trees have been the surprise package in the top flight this season, winning 17 of their opening 30 matches to emerge as genuine contenders for UEFA Champions League football.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side are challenging Arsenal for a top-two finish, with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on April 1 maintaining the four-point gap to the Gunners in third position.
Forest have a six-point cushion to Manchester City, who are locked in a fierce battle with Newcastle (5th), Chelsea (6th), Villa (7th) and Brighton (8th) for the final Champions League berth.
The Villans are making a late push for a top-four finish after winning three of their last five games and picking up 10 points in the process.
Unai Emery's side beat the Seagulls 3-0 on April 2 to make it back-to-back wins as they climbed above Fulham (9th) and Albion to keep the Citizens in their sights, with the gap between the two teams sitting at just three points.
The hosts are almost at full strength, with Ross Barkley (knee) the only absentee from the squad. Chris Wood (groin) could make a welcome return for the visitors, although Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina (calf) are both unavailable.
Emery is determined to give the fans Champions League nights once more next season and has highlighted the clash with Forest as key to achieving that objective.
"To be in Europe is our objective but we want to try to get again the Champions League. We're under this expectation, but with the points we achieved in Brentford and now in Brighton we are getting progressively better," the Spaniard said.
"Now our only focus is Saturday against Nottingham Forest because at the end of the season the most important competition through which we are getting our objective is the Premier League."
Nuno praised the fans for spurring their team on against the Red Devils and expressed pride in his players for putting in another shift just three days after their marathon FA Cup tie against Brighton.
"It was huge for us and for everyone in The City Ground, the clearance was down to them, the noise, the belief they have given us, we can't thank them enough," the Portuguese said.
"In the end it was about heart and these boys have plenty of it. It shows the hard work of the boys and the commitment that they have. Many of our players were on the pitch for 120 minutes at Brighton and they gave it all until the end. We should all be proud of them."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Aston Villa wins - 2
Forest wins - 2
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 31 fixtures:
Saturday, April 5
13h30: Everton v Arsenal
16h00: Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Ipswich Town v Wolverhampton Wanderers
16h00: West Ham United v Bournemouth
18h30: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
Sunday, April 6
15h00: Brentford v Chelsea
15h00: Fulham v Liverpool
15h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
17h30: Manchester United v Manchester City
Monday, April 7
21h00: Leicester City v Newcastle United
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