Nottingham Forest travel to Birmingham on Saturday while they seek to end a dismal three-match losing streak.
Sean Dyche’s men closed out 2025 poorly with a disappointing home defeat against Everton. Consequently, the Tricky Trees sit just four points above the relegation zone in 17th place. A victory at Villa Park would provide a massive boost to their survival hopes. However, Forest have not won a Premier League game at this stadium in over 30 years.
The visitors must also overcome a significant scoring drought in the top flight. Forest have failed to find the net in a division-high 10 games so far this season. Therefore, Dyche will likely demand a more clinical performance from his attacking unit today. While the squad is depleted by injuries and international duty, the manager remains hopeful that his team can cause an upset. A resilient defensive display will be vital against a high-scoring Villa side.
Nottingham Forest Team News
Sean Dyche is managing a lengthy list of absentees for this lunchtime kick-off. Chris Wood remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Ola Aina and Ryan Yates are also ruled out with thigh problems. Furthermore, the Tricky Trees are without Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré due to the Africa Cup of Nations. Swiss attacker Dan Ndoye is currently a doubt with an unspecified fitness issue. Consequently, the manager may have to reshuffle his starting lineup.
In defence, Neco Williams and Nikola Milenković are expected to retain their places. Nicolò Savona is also pushing for a starting role after the recent loss to Everton. Meanwhile, Morgan Gibbs-White will be the primary creative force in the midfield. He leads the team’s scoring charts with three goals this season. Igor Jesus is tipped to lead the attack as the visitors look to break their scoring slump.
