Two of the Championship’s form teams face off tonight as Nottingham Forest travel to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa.
The hosts have won their last three games, whilst Aitor Karanka’s men are unbeaten in their last five league games. It promises to be an enthralling affair with both clubs eager to keep their pressure on the top six.
One man that will be at the centre of attention this evening will be Lewis Grabban. The striker played for The Villans last season in their agonising promotion bid. He played during the back-end of the season, after joining from Premier League outfit Bournemouth. Grabban went on the score eight goals in 15 games for The Lions, falling short in the play-off final.
Given Villa’s financial woes during the summer, they were unable to buy Grabban from Bournemouth. Forest made the swoop for the striker and it is paying off. The 30-year-old made a slow start to the season at the City Ground, but now has ten goals in his last 11 league games and looks to be one of the form strikers in the league.
Not only will Villa regret failing to sign Grabban in the summer, but he could well come back to haunt Dean Smith’s men even more. The Lions’ defence has been slightly suspect at times this season, although they have been much improved as of late, and they could well struggle to contain Grabban this evening. Villa fans would surely not want to be informed of this irony, but Grabban could add insult to injury this evening.
