Nottinghamshire

One simple question and an answer with ugly consequences.

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

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• 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.

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• 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

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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

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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