Brentford win at Villa Park as Forest and Palace share the spoils

Villa were stunned at home by a resilient Brentford side, while Forest and Palace played out a tense draw at the City Ground in a game shaped by goals, red cards and key moments at both ends.

Ten-Man Brentford Silence Villa Park

Aston Villa's push near the top of the table lost pace as Brentford claimed a landmark 1-0 victory at Villa Park, despite playing nearly an hour with ten men. It was the Bees' first-ever league win at the ground after ten previous attempts.

With Ollie Watkins sidelined through injury, Tammy Abraham was handed his first Premier League start since 2021, making his second debut for Villa after returning in January. The striker, who scored 26 goals during his loan spell in 2018-19, was sent clear early on by Morgan Rogers but was denied by an excellent save from Caoimhin Kelleher.

Douglas Luiz, also making his second Villa debut following a loan move from Juventus, delivered a teasing free-kick that found Ezri Konsa unmarked, though the defender could not keep his effort on target.

The game turned just before the break when Brentford's Kevin Schade was shown a straight red card in the 42nd minute for kicking out at Matty Cash. However, the visitors struck first moments later as Dango Ouattara collected the ball after his cross was blocked and rifled a left-footed finish into the far top corner for his fourth league goal of the season.

Villa thought they had equalised early in the second half when Abraham tapped in from Kelleher's parry, but VAR ruled the ball had gone out of play in the build-up. Despite late pressure and further efforts from Cash, Luiz and Rogers, Brentford held firm. The win lifted Keith Andrews's side to seventh, while third-placed Villa were left seven points off the summit.

Forest Hold Firm After Late Palace Fightback

Nottingham Forest moved a step closer to Premier League safety after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the City Ground. The result extended Forest's unbeaten league run to four matches under Sean Dyche, while Palace stretched their overall winless streak to twelve.

Forest started brightly and were rewarded in the sixth minute when Morgan Gibbs-White side-footed home the opener. It was his 23rd Premier League goal for the club, taking him past Stan Collymore and leaving him just one behind Bryan Roy in Forest's all-time Premier League scoring list.

Palace responded with growing intensity, with Jefferson Lerma forcing an early save and Elliot Anderson standing out in midfield. Just before half-time, the match swung again when Neco Williams was sent off for handling Lerma's goalbound header on the line. From the resulting penalty, Ismaila Sarr calmly beat Matz Sels to level the scores.

The visitors pressed against ten men after the break, with Will Hughes squandering a clear chance and Brennan Johnson heading narrowly wide against his former club. Forest threatened on the break through Igor Jesus, but neither side could find a winner.

The draw ended Palace's run of five straight away defeats, though they still remain without a Premier League win against Forest, now winless in twelve meetings.