Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa met at 8pm BST in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, with Unai Emery asking his players to enjoy the occasion and respect their opponents and the referee. Before kickoff, Aston Villa made one change and Nottingham Forest made two, setting up a contest shaped by fresh selections as well as the size of the night.
Emery turned to Amadou Onana in place of Lamare Bogarde, while Vitor Pereira brought in Stefan Ortega for Matz Sels and Morato for Jair Cunha. Forest also switched Nicola Dominguez into midfield instead of Ibrahim Sangare, and lined up in a 4-4-1-1 with Ortega, Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Morato, Neco Williams, Omari Hutchinson, Elliot Anderson, Dominguez, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jesus and Chris Wood. Villa kept their 4-2-3-1 shape, with Emiliano Martinez behind Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne, then Youri Tielemans, Onana, John McGinn, Emi Buendia, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.
The tactical shape pointed to a familiar divide. Forest looked to use width from their 4-4-1-1, while Villa’s 4-2-3-1 concentrated more of their play through the middle, a contrast that fit the stakes of a semi-final first leg. Pereira’s changes came after Forest’s win over Sunderland, but the bigger question was how well they could carry that form into a game where every detail mattered.
For both clubs, this was the kind of night that can tilt a European tie before the second leg has even begun. Emery had set the tone by insisting on discipline as much as ambition, and the lineups showed both managers were willing to adjust rather than repeat what had gone before.
