Ollie Watkins scores again as Villa add to Forest’s woes

Ollie Watkins celebrated his 250th appearance for Aston Villa with a goal in a 3-1 win against a wretched Nottingham Forest who are slipping into deep relegation trouble.

Watkins continued his impressive form with his fourth strike in three over the festive period to spearhead an 11th straight home win for Villa.

John McGinn then struck twice after the break, including one from 35 yards, as Unai Emery’s men recorded their best streak at Villa Park since 1990.

It got them back to winning ways after their midweek humbling at Arsenal, moving into second ahead of the rest of the weekend’s Premier League action, but more importantly opened up a 12-point gap over fifth-placed Chelsea as they tightened their grip on Champions League qualification.

Forest briefly got back into the game through Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal but they were poor in slipping to a fourth successive defeat – their worst run in the Premier League since late 2023 amid a run of form which saw Steve Cooper sacked.

It might be too soon for Sean Dyche to be linked with suffering a similar fate, but the clouds are gathering and Tuesday’s visit to fellow strugglers West Ham, managed by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, now takes on extra significance.

Watkins should have been celebrating his landmark appearance with less than two minutes on the clock.

Morgan Rogers tackled Neco Williams in the penalty area and the ball ran through to Watkins but his shot from six yards out was saved by the outstretched leg of John Victor.

Villa could have done with that going in as Forest packed the defence and the hosts, for all their possession and territory, could not break them down.

Forest began to pose a threat on the break and tested Emiliano Martinez on the half-hour.

Nico