After speculation Steve Cooper would be sacked after defeat to Leicester last time out, Forest went in the opposite direction and handed their manager a surprise contract extension.
The newly-promoted club are rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, but can leapfrog Wolves and Leicester with a win on Monday night.
Aston Villa are unbeaten in three matches, yet are just two points above the drop zone.
Total Goals: Under 2.5
Villa have conceded just once in their three-match unbeaten streak. Forest have leaked goals, but this Villa attack isn’t exactly prolific. Only Wolves have scored fewer league goals than Steven Gerrard’s side.
These sides played out high-scoring matches when they last met in the Championship a few seasons ago, but the squads are unrecognisable from those encounters.
Under 2.5 has hit in five of Villa’s eight matches, and half of Forest’s league fixtures.
Total Cards: Over 4.5
These teams both rank in the top five in total cards received this season. Anthony Taylor is in charge of this match, and the highly-regarded official handed out more cards than the Premier League average in 2021-22.
There’s a lot at stake for both teams coming into this match.
It might be early in the season, but these are fixtures Forest desperately need to win if they are to give themselves a chance of safety. Villa, on the other hand, can build a nice cushion from the bottom three with a win.
Expect a combative 90 minutes under the lights.
Total Corners: Under 10.5
Manchester United are the only team to average fewer corners than Forest in the league this season. Villa average just 0.2 more corner kicks per match at 3.2.
A combined mark of 6.2 corners suggests the under is the way to go in the total corners market.
All odds are subject to change