Story byJohn McGinn scored twice in Aston Villa's 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park (Darren Staples)John WEAVERSat, January 3, 2026 at 5:41 PM UTC·3 min readAston Villa bounced back from a chastening defeat at Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Saturday and climb to second in the Premier League as West Ham collapsed against basement club Wolves. Unai Emery's Villa are now just three points behind the table-topping Gunners, who are in action at Bournemouth in the late kick-off. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVilla's 11-game winning streak in all competitions was brought to a shuddering halt with a 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, raising doubts about their ability to maintain a title charge. But their impressive record at Villa Park remains intact -- they have now won 11 straight matches there since a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in August. England forward Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead on the cusp of half-time with a powerful strike from just outside the area. John McGinn made it 2-0 early in the second period before Morgan Gibbs-White gave Forest hope of an unlikely point. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Scotland midfielder McGinn scored his second goal of the game from distance after a brain freeze from Forest goalkeeper John Victor, who inexplicably charged out of his area. McGinn collected Youri Tielemans' long ball and remained cool, sidestepping the 'keeper and stroking the ball into the empty net. The win takes Villa to 42 points, three behind leaders Arsenal, and one ahead of Manchester City, who host managerless Chelsea on Sunday. Villa boss Emery told Sky Sports that his players and coaching staff had held a meeting after their drubbing at the Emirates."I am so happy," he said. "We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Forest are competitive.
