Football Bet of the Day: 2/1 pick for all-English Europa League semi-final

There's plenty of football to enjoy on Thursday, but my focus will be on the Europa League action between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa for my Football Bet of the Day.

Thursday's contest comes from the City Ground, as both sides look to gain an advantage in their semi-final tie.

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Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa Odds

The Europa League final will have at least one English side once again this season, and whoever makes next month's showpiece will be favourites to win the competition, in my opinion.

So, this semi-final tie presents an incredible opportunity for both sides to potentially win European silverware and qualify for next season's Champions League.

Villa have the latter in their own hands as they currently sit in fifth spot in the Premier League, level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool and eight clear of Brighton and Hove Albion in sixth.

Forest, meanwhile, are embroiled in a relegation battle so can't really afford to take their eye off the ball, but they've given themselves some breathing room with recent wins over Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Sunderland.

The two sides locked horns earlier this month, sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw, so I'm going to avoid the traditional match result markets and focus on an anytime goalscorer pick.

I'm surprised to see Ollie Watkins as big as 2/1 to score anytime on Thursday, especially as the England international has returned to form over the past few months, scoring seven and assisting two in his last nine outings.

The 30-year-old scored three times over the two quarter-final legs against Bologna, as well as netting once away from home in last-16 tie against Lille.

In addition, Watkins has a decent record against Forest over the course of his career - he's scored four times in 14 career appearances against the Tricky Trees, including earlier this season at Villa Park in a 3-1 win in January. He's never scored away from home against Forest, but there's a first time for everything, right?

With the World Cup on the horizon, Watkins will be keen the end the season strongly, and put himself in contention to secure a seat on the plane to the USA this summer, and contributing towards Villa's European glory bid certainly won't do him any harm.

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