Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are both dealing with injury concerns ahead of Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg at the City Ground.
Villa's Injury Woes
Unai Emery's side head into the match on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Fulham, where they were without Amadou Onana. The Belgian midfielder felt pain in his knee during training before the trip to London and was ruled out as a result. After the match, Emery said Onana would be monitored day-to-day and was unsure whether he would be fit for Thursday's game.
Boubacar Kamara remains a long-term absentee for Villa, while Ross Barkley and Alysson were not included in the European squad for the knockout stages.
Forest's Defensive Crisis
Nottingham Forest have several issues, with manager Vitor Pereira set to speak to the media on Wednesday afternoon. Forest are assessing an injury to Jair Cunha that could leave them short defensively. The centre-back appeared to be in pain, clutching his arm when he was forced off in the 50th minute of a 5-0 win over Sunderland on Friday night.
Pereira was already without fellow Brazilian centre-half Murillo due to a suspected hamstring injury picked up in a 4-1 win over Burnley the previous weekend. Pereira said: “We will see. I am concerned about this because if we lose players in the same position at this time, it is a big problem. I hope. We will see. I am not a doctor, so we will see.”
Morato, another Brazilian centre-back, replaced Cunha against Sunderland and could be first in line to face Villa on Thursday if Cunha and Murillo are not fit. Pereira could also call on 19-year-old Zach Abbott, who has gained Europa League experience this season.
Forest will also be without Callum Hudson-Odoi, John Victor, and Nicolo Savona due to injury.
Broadcast and Viewing Information
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