By RismadarVoice Reporters
January 3, 2026
Aston Villa eased the pain of their midweek defeat to Arsenal with a convincing 3–1 victory over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Saturday, climbing to second place in the Premier League.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and a brace by John McGinn ensured Unai Emery’s side returned to winning ways, leapfrogging Manchester City and maintaining their formidable home form.
Watkins opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, before McGinn doubled Villa’s advantage early in the second half.
Morgan Gibbs-White briefly gave Forest hope with a fine finish, but McGinn capitalized on a costly error by Forest goalkeeper John Victor to seal the win.
The result restored confidence after Villa’s 4–1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, which ended their 11-game winning streak in all competitions, raised questions about their title credentials.
However, Villa Park remains a fortress. Emery’s men have now won 11 consecutive home matches since a 3–0 defeat to Crystal Palace in August.
Villa started brightly on a bitterly cold afternoon in Birmingham, were close to an early breakthrough when Victor blocked a point-blank effort from Watkins with his legs.
Nottingham Forest, managed by Sean Dyche, came into the match on a three-game losing run and struggled to assert themselves as Villa dominated possession.
Despite controlling nearly 80 percent of ball in the first half, the hosts initially found it difficult to convert their superiority into goals.
Forest threatened briefly when Emiliano Martínez was forced into a smart save to deny Omari Hutchinson, but it was Villa who struck just before the interval.
Villa extended their lead four minutes after the restart when McGinn side-footed home from close range following a cross from Matty Cash.
Forest reduced the deficit in the 61st minute as Gibbs-White produced a delicate chip over the advancing Martínez, injecting brief tension into the contest.
But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished in the 73rd minute when Victor rushed out of his goal, unnecessarily to contest a long ball from Youri Tielemans. McGinn seized the opportunity, evaded the goalkeeper and calmly rolled the ball into the empty net from distance to complete his brace.
The victory takes Villa to 42 points, three behind leaders Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City.
