Nottingham Forest lineup vs. Aston Villa: Predicted XI for Europa League semi-final first leg

Nottingham Forest could be without up to six players for Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first-leg clash with Aston Villa at the City Ground.

Callum Hudson-Odoi has recently been ruled out with a season-ending hamstring injury and has joined John Victor, Nicolo Savona and Willy Boly (all knee) in the treatment room.

Murillo (hamstring) is also expected to miss the first leg, while fellow centre-back Jair Cunha was forced off with a shoulder injury in Forest’s emphatic 5-0 Premier League win over Sunderland last Friday.

Morato could be called upon to start in the heart of the defence alongside Nikola Milenkovic, while Ola Aina and Neco Williams - who scored for Forest in the 1-1 Premier League draw with Aston Villa earlier this month - are expected to retain their starting spots at full-back.

Head coach Vitor Pereira will weigh up whether to continue with goalkeeper Mats Sels between the sticks or recall Stefan Ortega, who has started Forest’s last three Europa League matches.

In-demand Elliot Anderson is expected to start in centre-midfield alongside Ibrahim Sangare, while in-form Morgan Gibbs-White - five goals in his last three games in all competitions - could keep his spot on the left flank if Pereira decides to stick with two centre-forwards.

Omari Hutchinson and Dan Ndoye will battle for a start on the right wing, while Chris Wood and Igor Jesus could retain their partnership up front, the latter of whom is the Europa League’s joint-top scorer this season with seven goals.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup: Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Hutchinson, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White; Wood, Jesus

> Click here to see how Aston Villa could line up against Nottingham Forest