Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: Winless Sides Meet as Villa Chase a First Goal

Two of the Premier League's early-season strugglers meet on Saturday afternoon when Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest, with both clubs still searching for a first win of the campaign.

According to the Premier League table, Forest head into the weekend in the marginally healthier position: 16th with two points from three matches. Villa sit 18th with one point — a placing that currently has them inside the relegation zone. Kick-off is 3pm on Saturday 12 September.

Form guide: Villa still waiting for a goal

The numbers make grim reading for the hosts. According to the Premier League table, Villa have drawn one and lost two, scoring zero goals and conceding five — one of only three sides in the division yet to find the net this season, with a goal difference of -5.

Forest have been harder to beat, if no more prolific. A record of two draws and a defeat has brought two points, with two goals scored and three conceded. The visitors' problem has not been avoiding losses — it has been turning stubborn afternoons into victories.

• Aston Villa: 18th, 1 point, 0 scored, 5 conceded (form: D, L, L)
• Nottingham Forest: 16th, 2 points, 2 scored, 3 conceded (form: D, D, L)

The odds: market leans towards Villa

The latest match odds price a home win at 2.26, with Nottingham Forest at 3.45 and the draw at 3.55. Those figures imply roughly a 44 per cent chance of a Villa victory, with the away win and the draw almost neck-and-neck at around 29 and 28 per cent respectively.

The most striking detail is that the draw is priced longer than a Forest win — a hint that the market expects Saturday's meeting to produce a winner, even though both sides have already shared the points this season.

FanTribe prediction data: unanimous, for now

FanTribe's prediction data shows Villa backed by 100 per cent of fans who have voted, with neither a Forest win nor a draw attracting a single vote. The obvious caveat is sample size: with just one prediction logged at the time of writing, the poll remains wide open, and Forest supporters have yet to make their voices heard.

The verdict

There is a case for the draw at 3.55. Forest have taken a point from two of their three matches, and Villa have drawn once themselves. For a game between two sides yet to win, a stalemate is hardly a fanciful outcome.

The market's faith in Villa, though, rests on home advantage and the belief that a first win — and a first goal — has to arrive eventually. A home victory would lift Villa above Forest in the table at a stroke, while a Forest win would pull the visitors clear of the bottom three and deepen the early anxiety around the hosts.

Something has to give on Saturday. Three matches in, neither side has won, and neither can afford to let a slow start drift on much longer.