Aston Villa have an injury worry ahead of facing Nottingham Forest.
The Reds host Villa at the City Ground in the Premier League on Saturday (5:30pm) and Unai Emery’s side are sweating over the fitness of star striker Ollie Watkins.
Villa were in action in the Champions League on Tuesday night, beating Bundesliga side RB Leipzig 3-2 in Germany. But Watkins was forced off at half-time at the Red Bull Arena, being replaced by Jhon Duran who scored one of Villa’s three goals.
Emery confirmed after the final whistle that Watkins was withdrawn due to injury. “In the first half Watkins had a small injury and Duran replaced him and played the same level and scored one goal,” he said.
Despite doubts over Watkins, the victory was Villa’s third in a row ahead of facing Forest and Emery added: “I am happy. We are trying to separate this competition and after we recovered our confidence by winning the last two matches in the league, today was important to keep consistent in the Champions League and try to do another step forward with our circumstances to be contenders in the top eight.
"We played seriously and disciplined, controlling the game and now we have 13 points and more or less recovering confidence. Some players are also feeling better and hopefully we can keep going and try to be consistent in the next match against Nottingham Forest. In the Champions League we are feeling strong and comfortable."
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