(Football news) After losing 2-1 to Nuno Espirito Santo’s team in the premier league at the end of December, Manchester United, the FA Cup finalists from the previous season, will be out for retribution against the Tricky Trees.
Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 4-2 on the road on Saturday, ruining their hopes of earning three crucial Premier League points from a 2-0 home victory against West Ham United one week prior.
After Villa raced into a three-goal lead inside the first 39 minutes, Moussa Niakhate and Morgan Gibbs-White netted either side of half time to give the Tricky Trees hope of a comeback.
However, Leon Bailey restored Villa’s two-goal cushion just after the hour mark, and there was ultimately no way back for Forest, who suffered their 14th league defeat of the season and their fourth top-flight loss since the turn of the year.
Nuno’s men remain in the relegation picture as they hover just four points above the drop zone, and without even kicking a ball they have slipped to 17th in the Premier League table this week after Everton’s 10-point deduction for financial breaches was reduced to six following an appeal.
Before welcoming leaders Liverpool to the City Ground on Saturday, Forest must first shift their attention to Wednesday’s FA Cup tie with Manchester United as they endeavour to progress to the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons.
Forest have scraped through to the fifth round this term after requiring replays to beat League One side Blackpool and Championship outfit Bristol City in the previous two rounds, winning 5-3 on penalties against the latter earlier this month.
Although Forest entered Wednesday’s clash as underdogs, the Tricky Trees have advanced from four of their previous five FA Cup ties with Manchester United, while their aforementioned 2-1 home win over the Red Devils in the Premier League almost two months ago should provide Nuno’s camp with a boost.
After starting February off right with a four-game winning streak and receiving confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 27.7% purchase of the team, Manchester United went into last weekend’s top-flight matchup with Fulham in high spirits.
Erik ten Hag’s team, however, took a hit to their hopes of finishing in the top four when they lost 2-1 to the Cottagers at Old Trafford, just a few days after Ratcliffe pledged to assist the Red Devils in knocking rivals Manchester City and Liverpool “off their perch” at the top of English football.
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