Key events
Emery wants his players to enjoy the occasion; respect their opponents and respect the ref. Onana is fit to start so he is, and that’s about it.
So which team is going to win? If they’re brave enough to get men in the box, I fancy Forest. I don’t massively rate Villa’s defence, which lacks a bit of physicality on the left – I’m not sure how they’re going to control Gibbs-White, and I think Wood can lean on Pau Torres.
Villa, on the other hand, are more likely to build through the middle. They’ll condense the play and look for quick interchanges, Ollie Watkins attacking the space in behind – especially in the absence of Murillo – with Emi Buendia in particular but also John McGinn looking to feed him in.
And as Gibbs-White does for Forest, so Rogers will do for them, mooching about dropping grenades, while Youri Tielemans will look to conduct from deep and arrive on the edge of the box to hit shots.
So where is the game? Well, Forest will look to stretch the play, their full-backs keeping width, especially on the left, with Gibbs-White roaming and an attacking the box. They’ll no doubt be looking to hit Wood with crosses, and won’t mind sitting deep to take advantage of Vila’s high line and their pace on the counter.
I’m not at all surprised Emery has recalled Onana. His ability to cover the width of the pitch will be especially useful given Forest’s use of wingers, while he’ll also be aware of the need to pick up Jesus, dropping off.
It’s also worth noting the 4-4-1-1 throwback formation they now deploy. It has various strengths – it’s the most frequently used out of position shape, gives centre-backs two men to worry about rather than the modish one, and allows for wide overloads.
The reason we see less of it, though, is that it can leave a team undermanned in midfield. But if you’re not seeking control, it’s a really good way to play football, especially if you’ve got good attackers, as Forest do.
I guess Vitor Pereira has to consider the relegation battle his side haven’t quite yet won.
The return of Chris Wood has coincided with some terrific goalscoring form throughout the team, a reference point around which Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus can buzz.
As for Villa, it’s just the one alteration for Unai Emery, Amadou Onana in for Lamare Bogarde.
Taking a closer look at those, Vitor Pereira makes two changes to the Forest side which walloped Sunderland. In net, Stefan Ortega replaces Matz Sels while, in central defence, Morato comes in for Jair Cunha and in midfield, it’s Nicola Dominguez not Ibrahim Sangare.
Teams!
Nottingham Forest (4-4-1-1): Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Hutchinson, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Jesus, Wood. Subs: Sels, Willows, Lucca, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Abbott, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks, Blake.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Tielemans, Onana; McGinn, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins. Subs: Bizot, Wright, Bogarde, Maatsen, Lindelof, Mings, Garcia, Luiz, Bailey, Elliott, Sancho, Abraham.
Of course! It’s a big game, so TNT have someone reading meaningful truisms in an earnest voice. I’m choking up here. Anyroad up, let’s have some teams…
Preamble
An affirming feature of Cup competitions is getting to enjoy clubs, players, managers and supporters enjoying and detesting their biggest game in generations. But what is much rarer is to have two teams, from neighbouring regions, competing against each other in a contest which means that much to both, and is vitally important in its own right.
The specific dynamics of our match this evening are also special. Villa are the superior team, fifth in the league having spent much of the campaign higher – there was, briefly, talk of a title challenge – but they’ve struggled in recent months and arrive at this evening in spotty form. Forest, meanwhile, are the inferior team, 16th in the league having spent much of the campaign lower – there is, still, talk of a relegation battle – but they’ve improved in recent weeks and arrive at this evening in top form.
Then if, to that, we add a febrile City Ground, under the lights, along with the adored history of both clubs – Forest were European champions in 1979 and 1980, Villa in 1982 – which those who remember remember, and which those who don’t will have had remembered to them for the duration of their lives – we have what is, without doubt, one of the matches of this season and one of the matches of any season.
This is absolutely colossal, and it’s coming at us right now.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
