Forest are back in action this weekend, and Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest is one of the trickier trips on the early-season calendar. Oliver Glasner’s side head to the West Midlands still chasing a first win of 2026/27, against opponents who were playing Champions League football in midweek. Here is everything Reds supporters need to know about kick-off time, TV coverage and how to follow the game.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: kick-off time and venue
The match kicks off at 3pm BST on Saturday 12 September 2026 at Villa Park, the 42,000-capacity ground in Aston that has been Villa’s home since 1897.
It is Matchday 4 of the Premier League season and Forest’s second away fixture of the campaign, following the 2-2 draw at Anfield. The Reds have had a clear week to prepare; Villa have not, having travelled to Belgium in midweek.
Is the game on TV in the UK?
No – and this is the part that catches people out every season. Because the fixture kicks off at 3pm on a Saturday, it falls inside the UK broadcast blackout and will not be shown live on television in Britain.
The blackout is a long-standing rule that prevents any live football being broadcast in the UK between roughly 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday. The reasoning behind it is protective rather than commercial: the idea is that showing top-flight games in that window would keep supporters away from grounds further down the football pyramid. It applies to every UK broadcaster, so there is no Sky Sports, TNT Sports or Amazon coverage of a 3pm Saturday kick-off.
That also means there is no legitimate UK stream of the match. If a website is advertising a live feed of a 3pm Saturday Premier League game to a British audience, it is not licensed to do so.
How to follow the match
Highlights: the standard route is Match of the Day on BBC One on Saturday night, with the programme also available on BBC iPlayer afterwards. Premier League and club channels typically post shorter clips online once the broadcast embargo lifts.
Radio: BBC Radio Nottingham carries commentary on Forest matches home and away, and is the most reliable audio option for Reds supporters. National stations including talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live also cover a selection of Saturday afternoon fixtures – worth checking their listings on the day for which games they have picked.
Live updates: the blackout applies to pictures, not to text, so live blogs and score services run as normal throughout the afternoon.
Watching from outside the UK
The blackout is a UK-only arrangement, so overseas viewers are usually able to watch the game live. In the United States, Premier League rights sit with NBC Sports and its Peacock streaming service; in most other territories a local rights holder will carry the match. Broadcast partners change from season to season, so the safest approach is to check the official Premier League fixtures page, which lists the designated broadcaster by country.
Team news
Forest travel in reasonable shape. Ibrahim Sangaré was not risked for the goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur after missing the trip to Liverpool with a knock, with Glasner framing the decision as caution rather than a setback. Nicolò Savona remains the longer-term absentee with a knee problem, though the head coach has indicated the Italian could rejoin training around the international break.
Villa have their own question mark. Right-back and former Forest academy graduate Matty Cash was left out of the squad for Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Club Brugge with muscle discomfort, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka making his debut in his place. We covered Cash’s availability for the Forest game in full, and Unai Emery is due to update the media in his Friday press conference. Villa were also without Leon Goretzka and Johan Manzambi in Belgium, as reported by the Nottingham Post.
Form guide
Forest arrive with two points from three Premier League games. The season opened with a 0-1 home defeat by Leeds United, followed by an encouraging 2-2 draw at Anfield in which Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White scored and club-record signing Liam Delap made his debut. Last time out came a 0-0 draw with Tottenham at the City Ground, a game best remembered for Neco Williams having a goal disallowed for handball after a VAR check.
The pattern so far is clear enough: the Reds have been solid without the ball and short of a cutting edge in front of it, with successive blanks at home. Villa, meanwhile, are juggling a Premier League campaign with European football, which is exactly the sort of fixture congestion an opponent with a full week’s rest will want to exploit.
For a reminder of who is available and what number they are wearing this season, our Nottingham Forest squad numbers 2026/27 guide has the full list, and there is background on the head coach in our profile of who Oliver Glasner is.
The short version
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, Villa Park, Saturday 12 September, 3pm BST. Not live on UK television because of the Saturday blackout; highlights on Match of the Day; commentary on BBC Radio Nottingham; live pictures available to most overseas viewers through their local Premier League rights holder. The Tricky Trees go looking for a first win of the season.
