Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Bet Builder Tips: Anderson to be busy in 11/4 shot

Nottingham Forest hold a slender 1-0 lead in their Uefa Europa League semi-final tie against Aston Villa. The pair meet at Villa Park on Thursday (20:00 BST, TNT Sports 1) to decide who will progress to the showpiece final at the end of the month.

Read on for my Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Bet Builder Tips, which combine for an 11/4 price.

Double Chance - Aston Villa or Draw

Both teams rotated their teams for their Premier League fixtures over the weekend in preparation for this second leg. Villa have had one extra day to rest and prepare for this contest and this could impact the result on Thursday.

Villa have won all six of their home matches in the Europa League this term, while they also won January's Premier League clash with Forest at Villa Park 3-1.

However, Forest are unbeaten in their past two encounters with the Villans and they should be confident after their 3-1 success at Chelsea on Monday.

Villa are rightly the favourites but I think the insurance of a draw is a sensible play for this game.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Odds

Both Teams To Score - Yes

These two clubs have met three times already in 2025/26 and BTTS - Yes has landed in two of them, including January's Premier League encounter at Villa Park.

There may have only been one goal in the first leg but both teams will be forced to go for it on Thursday to secure their place in the final. Both squads are filled with attacking talent, such as Forest's Igor Jesus who has the joint-most goals (seven) in this competition.

BTTS - Yes has been a successful bet in four of the visitors' seven away trips in the UEL this campaign.

Igor Jesus 1+ shots on target

Jesus can play a key role for the Tricky Trees in the West Midlands and I am backing him to have at least one shot on target. The Brazilian striker managed this feat in last week's tussle at the City Ground, having had three attempts in total.

The Forest front man has also had the most shots on target (15) of any player in the Europa League this season from 34 attempts.

Elliot Anderson 2+ tackles

Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is attracting a lot of interest from some of the Premier League's top teams based on his performances over the past two years. I think he will be a very busy man on Thursday in trying to help turn defence into attack at Villa Park.

The former Newcastle United man made three tackles at the City Ground in the first leg, so I think he's good value to register two on this occasion.

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