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Nottingham Forest picked up their first Premier League win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Villa Park, coming from behind in an even game. Delap put Forest ahead early in the second half, before substitute Alysson equalised for Villa — a goal that ended a lengthy scoring drought for the hosts — only for Igor Jesus to snatch a late winner for Forest. It was a cruel afternoon for Villa, who somehow found a way to lose despite finally finding the net, while Forest's win came against a side who had drawn all three of their previous matches. Forest sit comfortably in the pack chasing the top half off the back of it, while Villa remain deep in trouble near the bottom of the table with barely a point to their name so far this season.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Villa won the Europa League last season and finished fourth in the Premier League, yet somehow arrive at this one without a single win or even a goal in three league games. Forest, under brand new boss Oliver Glasner, are in exactly the same boat — three games, no win, first time that's happened to them in the Premier League. Whoever wins this gets to stop talking about how bad their start has been. Whoever loses is staring at the relegation zone by lunchtime, trophy cabinet or not.
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2Villa have won each of their last six Premier League meetings with Forest at Villa Park, so history is heavily on the home side's side. It gets more lopsided than that too — this exact fixture decided last season's Europa League semi-final, and Villa won it 4-1 on aggregate by scoring all four goals in the second leg, at Villa Park, in front of their own fans. Forest fans would understandably like to not think about that.
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3John McGinn is the only reason Villa have had anything to cheer about lately — his strike at Club Brugge in midweek was Villa's first goal of the Champions League campaign, in a game they somehow won 3-2 having just been held goalless by Hull City in the league three days earlier. He's Villa's captain, their engine, and right now basically their entire attacking output. If Villa are going to end their Premier League goal drought today, the smart money says he's involved somehow.
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4Villa spent the summer waving goodbye to half their spine — Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Martinez are all gone — and Unai Emery is currently trying to glue a Premier League attack back together with the pieces left over, hence zero goals in three games. Forest's problem is different but just as pressing: Oliver Glasner has taken over from Vitor Pereira and hasn't won a single match yet in any competition, four games in. One of these two managers gets to feel a lot better about their week; the other one doesn't.
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5This is a genuinely rare collision: two Premier League clubs both still searching for their first league win of the season, level on points, level on goals for (zero, in Villa's case). Forest have never before failed to win any of their opening three Premier League games, so there's an unwanted club record on the line if they don't turn it around here. Somebody's miserable start ends today. The other one just gets more uncomfortable.
Team Talking Points
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1Villa's last game was one of the maddest of the season: they led Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford with the clock deep into stoppage time and still only drew 4-4, after United scored twice in added time. It's the kind of result that feels like a defeat even though it technically isn't.
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2Unai Emery walked down the touchline towards the tunnel before the final whistle after a quick handshake with Michael Carrick, and then had to defend it afterwards. He admitted he thought the game was over when United equalised. Mentioning the early exit is a safe bet for a knowing grimace.
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3Villa go into the international break 10th with 13 points from 10 games – three wins, four draws, three defeats. Since beating Manchester City they've failed to beat Bournemouth, Fulham, Barcelona or United and leaked 11 goals in that run. Emery's message is 'keep working on the defending', which is putting it mildly.
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4Emery himself is still focusing on the positives – he points to three wins and three draws in recent matches – but the question being asked around Villa Park is whether the team has stalled after several years of steady progress under him. Ask a Villa fan whether this is a blip or a ceiling and stand well back.
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5The good news: the table is tight. Villa are only five points off fifth-placed Chelsea, so a decent run after the break would change the mood completely. The bad news is that defending a two-goal lead for six minutes is apparently the hard part.
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Top thing to say down the pub
4-2 up at Old Trafford in stoppage time and Emery's already heading for the tunnel – and it still ends 4-4. That one's going to sting all international break.
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Avoid saying
"At least it's a point away at United" – technically true, emotionally inaccurate. Villa fans see it as two points chucked away, and you'll be the only person in the room calling it a good result.
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1Forest go into the international break on a high after beating Manchester City 3-1 at the City Ground last Saturday. It was their first home league win of the season, and it lifted them out of the relegation zone to around 16th.
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2Liam Delap scored twice, and he came through City's academy, so beating his old club was extra sweet. Jair Cunha opened the scoring after six minutes. Cunha also cleared an Erling Haaland shot off the line, which is the sort of thing defenders tell their grandchildren about.
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3Before Saturday, Forest had gone almost six months without scoring a goal at home. Six months. Mention that to a Forest fan now and they'll laugh, because it no longer hurts.
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4Manager Oliver Glasner said changes were needed after the previous defeat to Brentford, and he made them. Ryan Yates got his first start of the season and was reportedly behind a rousing team talk before kick-off. An academy lad firing up the dressing room is exactly the kind of story Forest fans love.
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5The job now is to stay up. One big win doesn't fix a season, and the bottom of the table is very crowded. Still, beating the team that had won seven in a row at the start of the season does wonders for belief.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Six months without a home goal, then three against Man City. Forest really don't do things the easy way.
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Avoid saying
"Forest are a big club, they'll be fine." Two European Cups is a great history, but it scores no goals, as six goalless months at home proved. Fans know a relegation scrap when they see one, and they don't want it waved away.