Paul Merson has backed Aston Villa to narrowly see past Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
After suffering three defeats on the bounce at Villa Park in all competitions, Unai Emery is hoping to push his team back to winning ways.
But it’s not going to be easy because it’s against a Nottingham Forest side that beat Aston Villa during the reverse fixture and also beat West Ham United last time out.
On paper, you would assume Aston Villa should see this one through, with the team pushing for Champions League football and their Midlands opponents looking over their shoulders in the relegation battle.
But Paul Merson doesn’t think it’s going to be as straight forward and he feels this is a ‘dodgy game for Aston Villa’, as he told Sportskeeda.
The counter-attacking threat of Nuno Espírito Santo’s side and Aston Villa’s high line is worrying the Sky Sports pundit, with Forest scoring in every league game since they sacked Steve Cooper.
Despite that, Paul Merson feels it will be a nerve-racking 2-1 win for the home side at the weekend.
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
“This is a dodgy game for Aston Villa,” said Merson
“I’ve watched enough of Nottingham Forest, and they’re dangerous on the counter. Villa are going to have a go this weekend, but Forest have a lot of pace on the counter and that could hurt the hosts.
“Aston Villa play a high line, and that does leave them vulnerable at the back. I wouldn’t be shocked if Forest managed to get a result, but I’m going to back Aston Villa to win this game.”
Champions League football
If the team wants to secure Champions League football next season, then we have to simply win games like this.
Yes, it’s not ideal that we have a host of injuries, but that’s the norm for a lot of teams, plus our squad is far better than Forest’s.
This might just be a case of it being a bit of a goal-fest on Saturday, so opening that scoring is very, very crucial because it usually results in us winning games.
In our last five games at home, we have lost three and drawn the other – conceding first on four occasions, so it’s pretty clear what needs to be done!
