da roleta： Aston Villa are currently riding a crest of a wave right now under Unai Emery, with their latest Premier League victory in midweek vaulting them up to seventh spot in the table.
da dobrowin： The win at the King Power Stadium was their fifth victory in their previous six matches and now leaves the Villans firmly in the hunt for a European spot for next season.
Nottingham Forest are the visitors today at Villa Park, and it gives the club another chance to continue their ascent up the table, and with the way they are playing right now, anything is possible.
Emery will likely make some changes to the side from midweek given the quick turnaround in games, and this could give a few players an opportunity to impress.
Bertrand Traore had a match-winning cameo against the Foxes, which could give Emery a licence to start the player and allow him to showcase his ability from the first whistle.
Will Bertrand Traore start for Aston Villa against Nottingham Forest?
The winger spent the first half of the season on loan at Turkish side Basaksehir, scoring three goals in 18 matches. However, he was recalled by Emery in January as Villa failed to sign a winger during the transfer window.
Since recovering from injury, he has played three times for the club and his contribution in midweek could be the confidence boost that he requires heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
He has averaged 1.3 shots per game and succeeded with 50% of his attempted dribbles during his three appearances so far, with his average game time of just 21 minutes not giving him the ideal chance to showcase his abilities.
The £17m winger enjoyed a successful first season at the club during 2020/21, registering 14 goal contributions (seven goals and seven assists), and if Emery can bring him back to that level ahead of next term, he could be like a brand-new signing.
His former manager, Dean Smith, lauded Traore at the end of his first campaign, saying: "He's a marvellous technician, I've been really pleased, and I expect better from him next season as well."
There is surely no doubt he has the ability to shine against a Forest side who have conceded 52 goals already this season, and we feel Traore can take advantage of their questionable defending this afternoon and build upon his midweek performance.