Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest has its first genuine team-news talking point, and it concerns the most expensive man in the home dressing room. Unai Emery has admitted he does not know whether £60m midfielder Johan Manzambi will be fit to face the Reds at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm), with the 20-year-old still working his way back from a knee problem.
Manzambi trained ahead of Villa’s Champions League trip to Club Brugge on Tuesday night but was left out of the travelling squad, and Emery was clear that the Switzerland international is being handled carefully rather than rushed.
“No, but he is progressing very good,” the Villa boss said when asked whether Manzambi would feature in Belgium, as reported by the Nottingham Post. “The doctor is keeping us with information about he is progressing medically. Normally, in a few days after tomorrow (Tuesday) he will be available, but I don’t know about Saturday.”
Why Villa are being patient with their £60m man
Manzambi has not appeared in a single one of Villa’s opening three Premier League fixtures. The midfielder had been working with a knee specialist following the World Cup, where he caught the eye for Switzerland with five goal contributions in four games, and he only returned to group training last week.
That timeline explains Emery’s caution. A player who has spent months off the pitch and days – not weeks – back in full training is rarely thrown straight into a Premier League start, and the Spaniard has an international break immediately after Saturday to bank minutes into instead. “Available” and “ready to start against Nottingham Forest” are two very different things.
He is not the only summer arrival Emery is without. Leon Goretzka has already ruled himself out until after the international break, confirming on Instagram that his body had “reacted to the increased workload” after time away from the game. Two of Villa’s new midfielders are therefore doubtful or unavailable for the visit of the Tricky Trees.
What it means for Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest
For Oliver Glasner, any absence in the middle of the pitch is worth noting, because that is precisely where this game is likely to be decided. Forest have taken two points from their first three league games – a 0-1 home defeat to Leeds United, a 2-2 draw at Anfield in which Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White scored and Liam Delap made his debut, and a goalless stalemate with Tottenham Hotspur on 5 September in which Neco Williams had a goal disallowed by VAR for handball.
Glasner did not hide his frustration after that one, admitting his disappointment at the Spurs stalemate despite a performance that deserved more. The pattern is clear enough: this Forest side are competitive and hard to beat, but they have not yet found the goal that turns a decent afternoon into three points. A first win of the campaign at Villa Park would be some way to end that wait.
The September international break gives Glasner a fortnight’s worth of preparation before that trip, and a Villa side missing a £60m midfielder and a Germany international is a marginally friendlier proposition than a fully loaded one. Marginally – Emery’s squad is deep, and a fixture in Birmingham has rarely been kind to the Reds.
The bottom line
Nothing here is settled. Emery’s own words suggest Manzambi could be back in contention within days, which means Forest fans should expect him in the squad rather than write him off. What Villa are unlikely to do is hand a 20-year-old his first minutes of the season by starting him against a Forest team desperate for a result.
Expect more clarity later in the week, when Emery faces the media again ahead of the 3pm kick-off. Until then, Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest looks like a game Villa will approach without at least one of their summer signings – and possibly two.
