Saturday 23 September 2017 07:37, UK
Aston Villa welcome Nottingham Forest to Villa Park on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football from 5.15pm, and we've taken a look at five talking points ahead of the Sky Bet Championship clash...
The only meeting between two European Cup-winning clubs to take place on Saturday will be in the Sky Bet Championship when Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa.
Two-time winners Forest have been out of the top flight since 1999 and the two sides will meet for just the third time this millennium at Villa Park.
Last season, it was Forest who had the edge as they held Villa to a 2-2 draw away in September and beat them 2-1 at the City Ground in February.
The disappointment of losing at home in the Carabao Cup in midweek aside, the last few results for Aston Villa in the Sky Bet Championship have suggested something of a very slight upturn for Steve Bruce's side.
They would have wanted more then two goalless draws in a row at home to Brentford and Middlesbrough, but a long-standing dismal record away from home was blown out of the water at Barnsley.
Villa scored three goals away from home for the first time in over two years at Oakwell, and Bruce will want his side to bring that kind of a display back to Villa Park.
Nottingham Forest survived relegation by the skins of their teeth last season. A final-day victory meant they finished one place above the drop zone, ending up above Blackburn on goal difference.
This season it's been a far more positive start under Mark Warburton. Forest have four wins and four defeats so far and sit 10th in the table.
Promotion may be out of reach in such a competitive league, but the two sides who just survived with them last season, Burton and Birmingham are currently 19th and 23rd. So it could be a whole lot worse. Consolidation and a scare-free season must be the name of the game.
Both sides made plenty of changes for the Carabao Cup in midweek as they clearly prioritised the game this weekend, but they still would have been disappointed with the manner of their defeats.
Forest, in truth, wouldn't have been expecting much from Chelsea but a 5-1 thumping wouldn't have been great for morale, while Villa could have done with something other than a defeat at home to Middlesbrough in an attempt to build up a head of steam.
For Bruce and Warburton now, the pressure is on for three points on Saturday.
For all the signings that Aston Villa have made since dropping to the Sky Bet Championship, it looks like 19-year-old academy graduate Keinan Davis could be set to cause the biggest stir this season.
There is often discussion about the attitude of youngsters trying to make it in the game these days, but team-mate Jonathan Kodjia is a big fan of his attitude.
"I like his football game," said Kodjia. "He is very, very strong. He has pace. He knows how to score goals. He is a quiet boy in the dressing room and he tries his best every day in training. You can tell he loves being a professional footballer and wants to make it count."
The 19-year-old scored his first goal for the club in a man-of-the-match display at Barnsley last week. He has now started Villa's last five league games and he could already take some removing from the starting XI.
Don't miss the Sky Bet Championship clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event from 5.15pm.
