Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter at Villa Park

Image source, Getty Images

Unai Emery makes five changes to the side who lost against Tottenham on Sunday.

Ross Barkley and Jadon Sancho make way for John McGinn and Emi Buendia, who gets a start after scoring Villa's late consolation goal last time out.

Regulars Ollie Watkins and Lucas Digne return to the starting line-up, replacing Tammy Abraham and Ian Maatsen respectively.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Tielemans, Lindelof, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Wright, Mings, Elliott, Garcia, Abraham, Sancho, Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.

Vitor Pereira brings some familiar faces, including Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic, back in to the starting 11 after making eight changes for Monday's victory against Chelsea.

Morgan Gibbs-White makes the bench for the Tricky Trees after the head injury he suffered last time out at Stamford Bridge.

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Dominguez, Anderson, McAtee, Jesus, Hutchinson, Wood.

Subs:Sels, Williows, Murillo, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Lucca, Yates, Bakwa, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks.

Image source, Getty Images

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter at Villa Park

Morgan Gibbs-White is only on the bench for Nottingham Forest.

The head injury he suffered against Chelsea on Monday - which required at least 11 stitches - was just too great to recover from in time to start.

Gibbs-White has scored nine goals in Vitor Pereira's 16 games to help them to the last four in Europe and on course to avoid relegation from the top flight.

Calls for him to gatecrash Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup have been growing as the in-form number 10 but his absence from the XI for Forest at Villa Park could prove pivotal this evening.

We're about to find out if Morgan Gibbs-White was passed fit or not.

Image source, Getty Images

Forest fan Ben Marshall speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast about the possible absence of captain Morgan Gibbs-White: "It's a big concern. He has been somewhat of a talisman in the last few games and has found form at a crucial part of the season for us. Having seen the photographs I find it really difficult to understand how he can possibly play. I can't see him being able to head the ball. The wound looked horrific.

"That said, McAtee had a superb game at the weekend and has done well in Europe when he has played. He is clearly a very talented understudy. Throughout the European campaign for Forest players have stepped up when they have had to. Whilst losing Gibbs-White would be a blow, there very much seems to be a 'next man up' attitude amongst the squad."

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Aston Villa fan Kevin Clarke speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: "After what happened on Sunday, Villa need to bring their 'A game' tonight. Emery needs to go back to what he knows and trusts and we need to get it over the line. We need to go at Forest rather than do what we normally do which is sit in and wait for the opportunity.

"Home advantage is going to be big. There's going to be about 40,000 Villa fans and it's going to be hostile for Nottingham Forest."

This is just the seventh all-English semi-final of a Uefa competition (eight if you count the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).

Three of them were Chelsea v Liverpool in the Champions League in the space of four years.

Click the little yellow "Get involved" box to, you can probably guess, get involved. Tell us who you think is going to the final and why.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter at Villa Park

An ice cream van - music included - was doing the rounds on the streets surrounding Villa Park before 5pm to catch the early arrivals.

There were plenty of them with the excitement and anxiety palpable with Aston Villa looking to claw back a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

The Villa Park factor cannot be underestimated and this stadium sometimes feels it can win games on its own, even without players on the pitch, such is the pull of the crowd and the atmosphere which can be created.

Despite Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, where Unai Emery made seven changes, those close to the head coach feel there will be a renewed focus and there will be no distractions now.

Emery earned praise from at least two Premier League managers for the decisions he made against Spurs - with tonight the priority and the head coach sticking to the strategy.

He will hope that will pay off with a place in the final in Istanbul on 20 May on the line.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome to a season-defining game for two of England's grand old clubs.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest go head to head for a place in the Europa League final.

We will have live text and radio commentary right here.