Ollie Watkins and John McGinn net in Aston Villa win over Nottingham Forrest as side move to second

The victory lifts Villa above Manchester City, who face Chelsea tomorrow, leaving them just three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.

For Forest, the defeat compounds their struggles this campaign, with Sean Dyche's men having now lost their last two visits to Villa Park by a combined scoreline of seven goals to two.

Watkins ended his Villa Park goal drought in dramatic fashion, finding the net deep into first-half stoppage time with an effort from distance.

The striker had not scored at home since September's fixture against Fulham, with his previous five league goals all coming on the road.

McGinn doubled the advantage after the interval, continuing what would prove to be an influential afternoon for the Scottish midfielder.

Forest rallied through Morgan Gibbs-White, who reduced the arrears in the 61st minute to give the visitors hope of salvaging something from the contest.

The goal marked Gibbs-White's third Premier League strike of the season, level with Callum Hudson-Odoi as the club's joint-top scorer.

Any hopes of a Forest comeback were swiftly extinguished by a calamitous error from goalkeeper John Victor.

The Brazilian custodian charged recklessly from his goal in an attempt to reach a ball played over the top, but McGinn comfortably evaded him before rolling the ball into the empty net from approximately 30 yards.

The moment proved doubly painful for Victor, who remained grounded on the turf following the incident.

The keeper was subsequently forced to leave the field through injury, visibly distressed and in tears as he departed.

His mistake had effectively sealed the contest, restoring Villa's two-goal cushion.

Forest were left with an insurmountable task in the closing stages.

The result represents an immediate response to Tuesday's 4-1 thrashing at the Emirates, which had brought an end to Villa's remarkable 11-match winning sequence across all competitions, including eight consecutive Premier League victories.

Emery's squad have rarely suffered back-to-back league defeats since the start of last season, with such setbacks occurring only twice in that period – during November 2024 and August of this campaign.

Villa Park has become something of a fortress.

Saturday's success extended their winning home run to 11 matches in all competitions, their longest such streak since the 1989-90 season.

Arsenal, who travel to struggling Bournemouth later today, remain the side to catch at the summit.

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