Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood says his full focus is on "performing straight away" after returning from injury.

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Ultimately I need to hit the ground running. There's no bedding in process.

"If we were sitting in the middle or the table or not in a European competition maybe I could bed in a bit more and take a bit more time with this injury but it's not about that, it's about performing straight away now.

"We've got some massive games both in Europe and the Premier League for the rest of the season so it's about getting back sharp as soon as possible and getting back firing and scoring goals."

• Click below to hear the full interview with BBC Radio Nottingham or listen on BBC Sounds

• Access a menu of Forest audio

Image source, Getty Images

Striker Chris Wood has said Nottingham Forest are keen to move forward in both the Premier League and in Europe, before the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Porto at the City Ground (20:00 BST).

Vitor Pereira's side drew 1-1 in Portugal last week, with Wood playing his first minutes since October after recovering from knee surgery.

"We've got a lot of big games coming up over the next eight weeks, one of them is [Thursday] and one on Sunday [against Burnley]," Wood said, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday.

"The boss has talked about having that squad balance. No matter who is selected, [they] should be ready to play and be 100% because we want to compete on both fronts and we've got the squad to do. But we know it's going to be a tough game [against Porto] and a tough game on Sunday.

"I believe whoever the manager picks will be ready to go and ready to fight, ready to put in a good performance."

On how he has perceived the situation at Forest, who are also in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, Wood added: "It has been a tough season, there has been a lot of change and a lot of upheaval at times but there has also been a lot of positivity - we're in a quarter-final of a European competition.

"We're very much happy to be in this place and giving ourselves the opportunity to progress here at the City Ground.

"We'd like to be higher up in the Premier League but that's life. We are where we are and it's about doing the business to make sure we're here next season."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto at the City Ground (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Elliot Anderson did not train on Wednesday because of "personal problems" and it is unclear if he will be available for the fixture.

• Pereira is "very happy" to have striker Chris Wood back from a long-term injury: "It is good because he has experience in dealing with these kinds of situations. He also has the quality to score goals, which is important. It is also his ability to help the rest of the team, he works hard even when we are defending."

• When asked if he will select his Europa League starting XI with their next Premier League game in mind, he replied: "I need to think about both games because it is important to balance our energy. We need to face Burnley in our best condition because it will be a tough game again."

• On whether he sees it as a straight decision between Europa League win and Premier League survival, he said: "We will try our best to keep going in both competitions, but with responsibility. We are trying to find a way to compete in both games, this is the only way that I know: working, working, working."

• However, the players will "need to be consistent" in order to succeed in these two challenges.

• On Forest facing Porto for the third time this season: "We know the game will be very tough. I know them very well and I know we need to play at a better level than in the first leg. If we can do that, we will see what happens."

• He is pleased that the club's upturn in form is happening under his watch: "When we accept a job in the middle of a season, we know it's because something isn't going well, but I saw this as a good challenge. It is a pleasure to face Porto in the Europa League and Burnley next in the Premier League. It means we are here, we are fighting, we are alive and we have the energy to keep going."

• His key message to the players has been about "being resilient, being confident, believing in our work and believing in our qualities".

• On whether people are starting to see the 'Vitor Pereira way', he said: "I'm eager to compete and I want to prove myself every day, so this is my message and my way. My message to us and our supporters is simply: 'Let's go.' I know we can win on the pitch."

• James McAtee and Dilane Bakwa have proven they are "very talented" through their Europa League performances this season. He explained: "When you have players with this sort of talent, you just need to give them confidence, support and chances to play."

• He added that both players have "potential", but the Premier League "demands some adaptation" and luckily they have youth on their side.

Look back at Wednesday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Hear more from Vitor Pereira speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham on BBC Sounds here or by pressing play on the clip below

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto is fast approaching, so we asked if you would rather see Vitor Pereira rotate his squad again with Premier League survival in mind or go all out in the hope of reaching a European semi-final.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Jack: The focus has to be on the Premier League with the position that we are in. I can't see us getting past Aston Villa in the semi-finals anyway, but regardless we must not get relegated and risk our entire squad being dismantled. For me, he should rotate with an eye on Burnley.

Tim: In a relegation scrap, at the business end of the season, morale is just as important as fitness. He should go full strength in the first half and play a low block to see the game out. The only bad outcomes are chasing a lost cause and extra time.

Ken: It will be a case of half and half hopefully, with a strong bench. I would start Awoniyi up top and Ortega in goal to protect the defence. I would give everyone else 45-60 minutes. Sunday's game is the really important one.

Richard: He has to play our strongest team. There is too much at stake!

Tony: I'd prefer to rotate and keep our best for the league. However, the possibility of winning the Europa League, and being a Championship team in Europe, has a sort of romance about it! Being relegated and out of the Europa League is an option I can't bring myself to think about. We must stay up at all costs, regroup and go for top half next season.

Reidy: Win this, beat Aston Villa in semi-finals, and who knows! The league will take care of itself, if we keep picking up points here and there, because Spurs look doomed.

Steve: I would suggest starting with the 'strongest side' but, following the poor display against Aston Villa, I'm not convinced those players are committed enough.

Image source, Getty Images

Two Premier League heavyweights are set to face each other this weekend at Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Arsenal.

Both teams go into the fixture with different targets. For Mikel Arteta's side, it is about extending their lead at the top of the table. For Pep Guardiola's side, it is about closing the gap and keeping themselves in the title race.

It is a fixture being labelled a title decider by some, so we want to know who you want to win this Sunday's match.

Will you be cheering on the Citizens or getting behind the Gunners?

Make your selection

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has a big decision to make before his side's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto on Thursday (20:00 BST).

Pereira made nine changes to his starting XI for the first leg and a much-altered team earned a 1-1 draw in Portugal.

Only Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White kept their places for Sunday's Premier League draw with Aston Villa, which moved Forest three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Reds are back on home turf at the City Ground on Thursday, so should Pereira rotate again with the Premier League survival battle in mind, or go all out in the hope of reaching a European semi-final?

Get in touch with your views here

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The irony of the Premier League's top clubs faltering at this stage of the season is that Nottingham Forest should have been the ones to take advantage.

After 32 games last season, the Reds were in third place with 57 points. The same points at this stage would have them in third place, two above Manchester United and Aston Villa.

If strengthening the squad last summer could have kept us on the same trajectory, then the depth and quality would have kept us in the race for the Champions League - now confirmed as five places again for the Premier League for next season.

That points tally would put us nine clear of sixth-placed Chelsea and, feasibly, last season's total of 65 points would probably be enough for a place in Europe's top competition.

As it is, football - as Liverpool, and possibly Arsenal, fans will confirm - doesn't always follow logic. And the season we have is the season we have.

Except the opportunity to write our own history, as it was back in August, is still ours to own. Vitor Pereira's steady hand took us closer to a Europa League semi-final last Thursday and Sunday's draw with Aston Villa was a warm-up against our possible opponents should we beat Porto on Thursday.

Pereira is notably the first of our four managers this season to successfully shuffle the squad in a cup game and not be embarrassed.

While hindsight is a wonderful thing, conjecture is also dangerous and each game as it comes is the sensible way to proceed. But if you can't dream in football, what can you do?

Forest's season can still go several ways but the redemption arc is one in which our failings in the Premier League could be redeemed by Europa League glory.

A place in the Champions League and Premier League status retained? The dream remains alive.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Getting 36 points on the board should offer a huge psychological boost for Leeds.

Teams finishing on 36 or more points in each of the past nine Premier League seasons have avoided relegation.

In the 20-team Premier League era, starting from the 1995-96 season, the average number of points earned by the team finishing 18th is 35.53.

In those 30 seasons of 38 games, 36 points has ensured survival 60% of the time.

The rate of survival increases to 80% for 38 points, 90% for 40 points and 100% for 43 or more points.

So does that mean Leeds have virtually guaranteed survival this season?

Not really.

That is because this season is on track to be the toughest to survive for a decade.

According to Opta's supercomputer, Tottenham are now favourites to go down at 48.7%. But Spurs, sitting 18th, are on 30 points and projected to finish on 37 by Opta - meaning 38 points would be needed for survival.

West Ham, currently 17th, hold the record for the team relegated with the most points in the 20-team era - in 2002-03 when they picked up 42 points but still went down.

"The reality is that performance-wise we should already [have] far more than 40 points," Daniel Farke said.

"This team has performed over the whole season with unbelievable consistency.

"But we are on 36 points, a few more points are needed. For now, three points closer but nothing is achieved yet."

Read more here

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Nottingham Forest fans

John: A crucial point against a tough opponent. Might be the difference for staying up. Moments of good play and some not so much but it's about building points at this stage of season.

Peter: I think most Forest supporters would have taken a point against Villa before kick off. We are definitely playing better and Neco is outstanding. Hopefully Chris Wood will also find the back of the net in the next few games. My concern is - will this point be enough to stay up at the end of the season?

Kris: Bit of a stalemate, but we got away with one today. Villa missed a couple of absolute sitters, whereas we looked blunt in the final third. A point against a team challenging at the other end of the table can't be sniffed at and we're slowly pulling away.

Luke: We certainly rode our luck, but it's a hard fought and very important point. Over the course of the season this is the kind of game we would lose in heart-breaking fashion - so there are encouraging signs. Certainly not out of the woods at this point but the season could still turn out to be incredible.

Aston Villa fans

Ian: A game we should have won with two or three golden chances in the second half. Some credit to Forest though in fighting for their Premier League survival. Solid performance without hitting our best but we need to be more clinical. Let's hope it doesn't come back to haunt us.

Dean: Praise has gone to Rogers' head. He's gone from excellent to average over the last few months - giving the ball away far too much and seems generally off it.

Robbie: Villa didn't seem up for the game as much as Forest did. Morgan Rogers has not been himself for a while now, every time he got the ball he either lost it or passed it to the opposition. He's gone off the boil and needs to improve more for the trip to the World Cup, if selected.

Michael: Mixed. Technically better than Forest but gave the ball away far too often in dangerous areas - Rogers guilty on several occasions including equaliser. Equally profligate at the other end - Watkins, Rogers missing gilt-edged chances. Emery fuming in technical area! Must do better.

One simple question and an answer with ugly consequences.

Hit play below and watch Match of the Day 2 in full here

Listen to Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira speak to BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray following the draw with Aston Villa.

• Access all the Nottingham Forest audio

• Take a listen to Neco Williams speaking to Colin

Pundits Pat Nevin and Ben Foster join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle United

• Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa

• Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham

• Chelsea 0-3 Manchester City

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Forest are unbeaten in their past five games in all competitions as Vitor Pereira looks to steer them away from trouble.

With a three-point cushion to the relegation zone, survival is in their hands - especially with the visit of second-bottom Burnley to the City Ground next Sunday.

Four points from home games against Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and fellow strugglers Burnley would represent a crucial return in the fight against the drop.

They are battling for it and rode their luck against Villa - with Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins missing superb openings - but it is another point on the board.

Pereira's decision to rest a number of senior players for the midweek Europa League draw at Porto also paid off, and with Chris Wood making his return after six months out injured this week the momentum is with Forest.

Premier League survival is the priority - Pereira saying it would be a "disaster" if Forest were to be relegated - but in a week which will define their season they have made a positive start.

Porto visit in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday, and come Sunday evening Forest could be almost safe and into a European semi-final.

Nottingham Forest manger Vitor Pereira has been speaking to Sky Sports following the draw: "It was a good point, in a difficult game, against a very difficult opponent. There were opportunities from one side and opportunities form the other. In the end, I think one point is a good result.

"Aston Villa are a team that's not easy to control. They create some problems, but you try to face the problems and create your own chances. After the goal, it is about the character, confidence and spirit. We scored our goal and we had chances to score more goals, as did they.

"When we decided to bring on another striker, we wanted to win the game. Three points would've been better than one. We tried, but facing a strong team means in the end we have come away five games without losing.

"We are heading in the right way with the right spirit. It is important to get points in every game until the end of the season. We need to look [only at] ourselves and try to do our best to get points."

On Chris Wood's return: "His experience, quality and goals are important. He smells the goals in the box. He has the ability to help us."

Nottingham Forest goalscorer Neco Williams also spoke to Sky Sports: "We are pleased. Every point at this stage of the season is so valuable. We wanted three points, but Aston Villa are a top side. It is an important point.

"We knew we had to get the second goal and we did. We stuck together, it was a proper team performance and it was important to stick at it."

On relegation rivals Tottenham losing to Sunderland: "You don't want to look at the table too much because you want to focus on yourself. It's hard not to with the position we're in. Every game is a cup final for us. Every point is so important."

Did you know?

• Five of Nottingham Forest's six Premier League home games in 2026 have ended level (L1). In fact, they have drawn more home games than any other team in the division this year (5).

• Since the start of 2023-24, Murillo has scored the joint-most own goals of any player in the Premier League (3 - level with Marc Guehi and Konstantinos Mavropanos).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira makes nine changes to the side which drew 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final first leg at Porto on Thursday.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo remain from the draw in Portugal while Elliot Anderson returns after missing the game through suspension.

Striker Chris Wood is on the bench having made his comeback after six months out in the week.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Hutchinson, Igor Jesus

Subs: Ortega; Morato, Wood, Ndoye, Domínguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa

Vitor Lindelof and Ross Barkley return for Aston Villa from their Europa League quarter-final win at Bologna.

Ezri Konsa and Emi Buendia drop to the bench for the visitors, who won their first-leg 3-1 in Italy on Thursday.

It is Lindelof's first Premier League start in three months while Barkley makes just his third Premier League start of the season.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Digne, Barkley. Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.

Subs: Bizot, Konsa, Buendia, Garcia, Abraham, Luiz, Maatsen, Bogarde, Bailey.

Image source, BBC Sport

There are four games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Crystal Palace v Newcastle United - Listen on Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa - Listen on Sports Extra

• Sunderland v Tottenham - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Manchester City (16:30 BST) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Sunderland v Tottenham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Manchester City".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Both of these teams played in Europe on Thursday night, but they will surely have at least half an eye on this game because it is so important at the top and bottom of the table.

At the top, Aston Villa are in the Champions League places and have a six-point cushion over sixth-placed Chelsea with seven games to go.

They beat West Ham United in their last game, after losing three in a row, and they would dearly love to hit a bit of form now.

Nottingham Forest got a massive win over relegation rivals Tottenham last time out, but they still have a lot of work to do to stay up.

It's a big boost that Chris Wood is back after six months out, but the 'Wood-chopper' will be rusty and it might be a while before he is back in the swing of things. I've chopped a lot of wood over the years and I know if your axe is left in the shed for a while, it loses its sharpness.

This is going to be an extremely tight game. A win would be huge for either team, but I'm going to say they will both have to settle for a single point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport journalist

Two potential Europa League winners meet in the top flight this weekend as Aston Villa make the short trip to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. BBC Sport explores some of the key themes.

Both sides have been straddling European endeavours with domestic duties this season and both will likely suffer from fatigue having each played tricky ties on the continent on Thursday.

Forest finding form

Europe has provided a welcome distraction from the Premier League for Nottingham Forest for most of this campaign but, under Vitor Pereira, they seem to be finding form at the perfect time.

Forest sit three points above the relegation places with seven games remaining but they have taken four points from the past two league games, including a huge 3-0 victory at relegation rivals Spurs in their last outing.

A creditable draw in Porto on Thursday night with a much-changed side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches and Pereira seems to be striking the necessary balance between European progression and Premier League survival.

A total of 36 points has been enough to guarantee survival in each of the past nine Premier League seasons and if that trend continues in 2025-26, the Tricky Trees require only four more points from their seven remaining matches.

One thing Pereira is yet to address is Forest's poor home run – they are winless in seven league outings in front of their own fans (D4, L3) and they have failed to score in each of their past three matches at the City Ground. Their last home league win was in 2025, 119 days ago versus Spurs.

Villa's recent struggles at Forest

Aston Villa resume their league campaign against a side they have historically enjoyed the upper hand against in the Premier League era.

The Villans have lost only three of their 17 Premier League meetings with Forest (W9, D5), however, two of those defeats have come at the City Ground in recent seasons and they have not won a top-flight match there since January 1995.

Villa will draw confidence from their 3-1 victory at Bologna in midweek. It was their third win on the bounce in all competitions and the club's eighth in succession in the Europa League this season, with Unai Emery's side putting one foot firmly in the semi-finals - where they could potentially meet Forest again at the end of April.

Ollie Watkins has seemingly responded to his recent England snub by finding his shooting boots and he has now contributed four goals in four starts across all competitions. Incidentally, his two goals on Thursday in northern Italy were his eighth and ninth Villa goals in a major European competition, equalling the club record first set by Peter Withe and matched by John McGinn.