It is fifth place against sixth this weekend as Unai Emery's Aston Villa travel to the East Midlands to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. After a sticky month and a half in which the Villans went eight games in all competitions without a win, Emery's men seem to be back on track after winning their last three games.

Home victories over Brentford and Southampton restored their fortunes in the league before Tuesday night's 3-2 triumph over RB Leipzig saw them get back to winning ways in the Champions League.

Villa have maintained expectations that they would push for a second top four finish in a row, sitting sixth in the league prior to the Forest clash. With the expected competition in Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur both struggling and current fourth-placed side Manchester City also shockingly failing to impress so far this season, the Claret and Blues are surrounded by some surprising contenders for the top four and European places.

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And Forest are one of those. Nuno Espírito Santo's men have enjoyed a spectacular start to the campaign, killing off any suggestions of a relegation battle that had been banded around before the season began. They have the exact same record as the Villans with seven wins, four draws, and four defeats, sitting above them with just one superior goal difference, and have picked up good wins against league leaders Liverpool and 13-time Premier League winners Man United.

Àlex Moreno, who joined the Tricky Trees on loan in the summer, will miss the visit of his parent club due to the term in his contract, whilst Villa could be without Ollie Watkins who picked up a knock and was replaced at half time by Jhon Durán at half time against Leipzig.

How can I watch the game?

With the fixture being chosen for the Saturday late 17:30PM kick-off, the clash at the City Ground will be available to view in the United Kingdom. The game will be streamed by Sky Sports, on both the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League channels.

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