The stage is set. The kits are pressed. The managers have had their say. All that's left is the football.
Thursday night at Villa Park (20:00 BST) promises to be a historic occasion as Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest face off in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final. For both clubs, a place in a major European final is on the line—something neither has achieved in over 40 years. The tension is palpable, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
Both managers made no secret of their priorities last weekend, resting key players for Premier League duty. Unai Emery rang in seven changes against Tottenham, while Vitor Pereira went even further, making eight against Chelsea. The message is clear: everything is being saved for Thursday night.
But with big games come big decisions—and injury headaches. Emery confirmed in his pre-match press conference that midfielder Amadou Onana will miss out after picking up a calf injury in the first leg. There's better news on John McGinn, however, who trained normally after hamstring tightness and is back in contention.
Over in the Forest camp, Pereira faces a late call on Morgan Gibbs-White after the playmaker suffered a head injury that required stitches. Meanwhile, defender Zach Abbott has been cleared following a separate clash of heads, and there's even a glimmer of hope that Murillo could return from a hamstring problem.
So, with the team news out of the way, the big question remains: who gets your vote for the starting XI? In a fixture that could define a season—and a club's legacy—every selection matters. Which players would you build your team around for this monumental night?
