Aston Villa travel to the City Ground on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest, with Unai Emery’s men on the verge of matching a feat held by Manchester City.
Villa have won nine consecutive matches in European competition, and a victory tomorrow would see them equal City’s run of 10 straight wins set in the Champions League between 2023 and 2024. Despite a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at the weekend, Villa remain the firm favorites to lift the Europa League trophy.
This all-English semi-final carries immense weight, as it is the first time two Midlands rivals have met at this stage of a major continental competition.
Emery has participated in seven Europa League semi-finals since 2010 and is widely considered the master of this tournament.
However, Vitor Pereira’s Forest side has already held Villa to a 1-1 draw at home this month, and with the City Ground crowd behind them, the Tricky Trees are hoping to disrupt Villa’s pursuit of a record-breaking 13th European win in a single season.