Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa: Premier League – live | Nottingham Forest

55 minutes: Scott Blair pipes up: “Well, if we go down that route…there was a bit of Brian Clough in Robert Lowell…”

54 mins: Duran throws a fresh air attempt, and then his overhead is executed perfectly, except for being just over it. The term “Mercury, the boy” fits him.

52 mins: Villa are at least trying to move things along.

50 minutes: Mark Turner calls it: “A fascinating tactical battle, Brian.”

Yes, it’s still terrible.

49 mins: Today’s Premier League at a glance.

48 minutes: It’s still physically demanding, John McGinn attacks Ola Aina but is not booked because he appears to have prevented a counterattack.

47 mins: To continue the game’s early 1980s echoes – and style:

I’ve never heard of Oscar Wilde
I’m not talking about Brendan Behan
I’m not thinking about Sean O’Casey
I don’t care about George Bernard Shaw
He doesn’t care about Samuel Beckett
He won’t talk about Eugene O’Neill
Edna O’Brien and Laurence Sterne

Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan
Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw
Samuel Beckett, Eugene O’Neill
Edna O’Brien and Laurence Sterne
Sean Kavanaugh and Sean McCann
Benedict Keilly, Jimmy Hiney
Frank O’Connor and Catherine Rhine

(Thanks to Kevin Rowland)

We’re on the road again

David C Hunter: “Naughty John Bruton, detention for you. Thackeray was Dickens’ rival. For a non-rival to stars, try Samuel Richardson. There are a lot of boring passages.”

Mary Waltz: “Is nothing happening? Come on, Tristram’s eloquent speech is just action-packed!”

Geoff Wignall gets in touch: “Thackeray’s novels may have meandered endlessly, but I doubt he wrote many 18th-century novels – given his birth in 1811.”

Yes, I’ve noticed that, but he’s the epitome of gossip, isn’t he?

Half time: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Aston Villa

45+1 min.: Three minutes longer and it’s still bitchy,

45 minutes; Sels saves for the first time, this time against cash.

43 mins: All Villa. They have steam, but there’s not a lot of creativity happening.

42 mins: Murillo is back and then stands in the way of a Rogers pass. Tielemans tries to send Cash away but Villa cancel instead.

40 minutes: Rogers, who is having his breakout season, is playing well. Murillo is on the ground for Forest and holds his foot. That hurt. And it could be the Brazilian.

39 mins: Villa comes closest. McGinn’s chip and Konsa’s header goes wide.

37 mins: How did Anderson get away with taking Rogers’ shirt off? We’ll never know unless we watch this show with Howie Webb and Magic Mike Owen.

36 minutes: This time Anderson stops Rogers more fairly and pushes the ball up to Wood. Decent touch – for a big man – in Carlos, but the shot is stopped.

34 mins: Villa on the attack, it’s been a while. Was Rogers brought down by Anderson? Some shirts are pulled. The ball remains live and if the VAR is watching, we will find out soon. The exam is completed. Anderson was a bit lucky there.

32 mins: Tim Pearson: “This game so far has been like an 18th century novel – page by page, chapter by chapter, nothing really happened.”

Tristram Shandy? Thackeray? Something like that?

31 mins: Anderson’s ball hanging and Murillo might have done better.

30 minutes: Villa are now back on form, Forest need Anderson for a solo run and his shot is deflected. Corner and he will take it.

28 mins: Better from Forest, you have to say. And that could also make room for Villa. The gloom finally lifts.

27 mins: The ball is chipped at the back post by Gibbs-White. Only Dominguez and a host of Villa players could do it. Forest gets a free kick and Murillo goes too far for his colleagues.

25 minutes: Tielemans sets up Duran, then Cash and McGinn both swing the ball.

24 mins: Chris Wood is ousted. There’s not much for the big man to do.

22 mins: Anderson and Hudson-Odoi are trying to force something, and they’re really forcing it. No flow to either attack. Not a great advertisement for the Midland powerhouse. Hudson-Odoi’s cross comes in and is headed away. Konza finally clears Villa lines.

20 minutes: Big noise from both fans. It’s that time of year. Football tended to lack glitter. Yates, recovered, has a chance. It ends up somewhere in the forecourt behind the stands.

18 minutes: Duran takes his first shot on goal and it would have been a miracle if it had gone in. Neither team seemed capable of anything here so far.

15 minutes: Yates requires treatment but appears to be able to carry on. It’s been pretty forgettable so far.

12 minutes: Ryan Yates, the Forest captain, was struck. This also applies to Morgan Rogers. There are a few players who are feeling the wear and tear of the tough schedule.

9 minutes: Unai Emery patrols the sidelines, his dog-loving expression always reminiscent of Steve Coogan as Mr Hennety. His team dominated possession of the ball but hardly got any substitutions.

8 minutes: Only a few tackles go in. Matz Selz, the Forest goalkeeper, looks injured and then Duran throws a kick.

7 minutes: Forest, as you would expect from a Nuno team, are maintaining their form.

Bogdan speaks up: “I’m not a fan of these two teams, but the fact is that they have become European champions three times together. So it’s a game between two clubs that are probably bigger than anyone thinks, two teams whose tradition and history must be respected.”

Both teams have had periods of wilderness since then, but visiting them leaves no doubt as to how big the clubs are. I actually love visiting both.

5 minutes: Villa are dominant in possession, Forest hold back and Chris Wood comes back to help out. Hudson-Odoi fails to hold onto the ball as a counterattack threatens.

4 minutes: Gibbs-White and Anderson connect, but the ball up the middle presents no challenge for Martinez.

3 minutes: Morgan Rogers’ blonde hair – is that new? “I’ll take the Abel Xavier please.” Villa makes most of the advance.

Mull of Kintyre means we are traveling in Notts

Welcome to the Jungle sounds and it’s showtime at the City Ground.

Late news: Pau Torres is back, Tyrone Mings feels ill during warm-up.

Nottingham Forest: Matz Sels, Ola Aina, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Neco Williams, Ryan Yates, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Nicolas Dominguez, Chris Wood.

Subs: Morato, Taiwo Awoniyi, Harry Toffolo, James Ward-Prowse, Jota Silva, Anthony Elanga, Ramon Sosa, Willy-Arnaud Boly, Carlos Miguel.

Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Boubacar Kamara, Jhon Duran.

Subs: Ross Barkley, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, Lamare Bogarde, Robin Olsen.

Based on these results, it’s a five-six fight.

Saturday at 3 p.m. is over and there are a few surprising results.

A change from Forest’s glorious defeat from Manchester United, and that’s Dominguez for Jota. At Villa, Duran starts as expected and Pau Torres is replaced by Tyrone Mings.

The teams – Duran begins

Quiz time, and it’s a difficult one.

Early team news.

Alex Moreno cannot play for Forest as he is a Villa loan player.

Ollie Watkins is a doubt, so we could see Jhon Duran getting another start after his winner against Southampton last week.

preamble