Handicap Nottingham Forest (+1)
Handicap Nottingham Forest (+1)
Aston Villa are in great form, having won 5 of their last 6 matches with one draw. This helped them climb to 7th place in the table and reduce the gap to the Champions League zone to 6 points.
This effect was achieved thanks to the appointment of Unai Emery as head coach in early November last year. Still, not everything is so obvious, under the Spanish manager, Villans create an average of 1.33xg, but allow much more – 1.57xg. This suggests that the number of points scored was heavily influenced by luck.
Nottingham Forest have fallen into a prolonged gaming crisis from which they still cannot get out. The team did not win 8 matches in a row, losing 5 of them. As a result, they fell to the 17th place in the table and balance on the edge of the relegation zone.
One of the team’s main problems is the low offensive potential. In terms of expected goals scored (xg = 1.04), it ranks 4th from the bottom. In addition, “Forests” for some time felt shortages in defense due to injuries, but Felipe, who was contracted at the end of January, was able to partially remedy this problem.
I don’t think Aston Villa are clear favorites in this match. Nottingham Forest are desperate for points and know how to take advantage of their opponent’s imbalance.