Does Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) have the monopoly over the £4.0m goalkeeper spot once again?
John Victor‘s (£4.0m) latest start for Nottingham Forest ended in literal tears as the Tricky Trees slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Here are our Scout Notes from Villa Park.
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Minteh update + first start for £4.8m forward
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Most-sold Rice hauls, Saka sub + will Semenyo start in GW21?
- READ MORE: FPL notes: £4.5m forward hauls, Bowen DefCon + Paqueta injury
DYCHE ON £4.0M JOHN’S ERROR AND INJURY
The afternoon had started well for John, who did very well to block Ollie Watkins‘ (£8.6m) close-range attempt.
It was downhill from there, however. The Brazilian probably should have stopped Watkins’ 45th-minute opener, while he needlessly flapped at an Ian Maatsen (£4.2m) cross shortly before John McGinn (£5.4m) stabbed in Villa’s second.
Then the nadir. With Forest back in the game at 2-1, John needlessly rushed out of goal to intercept a chipped pass from Youri Tielemans (£5.9m), arriving way after McGinn had controlled the ball. It left the Scot with an empty-ish net from 35 yards, and that was game over.
To compound matters, John appeared to have picked up an injury (or was it saving face?) in the process. He came off for Matz Sels (£4.6m), in tears, soon after.
“I think he’s injured. I think he’s hurt himself. So, I think [him being upset] is more about that. Yeah, I mean, he knows it’s an error, but sometimes it happens. But we did open up before that, a simple chip down the pitch. You know, we don’t need to be in the positions we are. So, there’s a lot before that happens, as always, but basic errors are hurting us at the moment.” – Sean Dyche
Expect the cut-price Sels to be back in the side in Gameweek 21, injury or not.
“BASIC ERRORS” MASKING DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES?
Forest actually kept it pretty tight defensively (off the ball, anyway) against Villa, frustrating their hosts in the first half especially.
All the big chances were self-inflicted: aside from John’s gaffes, Neco Williams (£4.7m) was closed down for Watkins’ early opportunity and Dilane Bakwa (£5.9m) gave the ball away for Villa’s second.
Forest, remarkably, are ranked first for fewest big chances conceded since Dyche took over. Their rolling six-game xG conceded average has moved in the right direction, too, unsurprisingly:
Cut the feet-shooting out, and the clean sheets may return. The return of Ola Aina (£4.7m), back in the side after injury on Saturday, may also help.
At the other end is probably where the main concern is. It’s six goals in eight games now – and three of those came in the win over Tottenham Hotspur. ‘Dycheball’ is in full swing: Forest are top for long balls since he took over, with key players like Elliot Anderson (£5.4m) looking visibly frustrated on Saturday.
At least Anderson’s remarkable DefCon run continues: he’s now hit the threshold in nine of his last 11 games. Fittingly for a defensive contributions machine, he’s averaging exactly 4.0 points per match this season.
Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.3m) did find the net, in a rare moment of offensive positivity. That was his first return in eight.
ROGERS, WATKINS + CASH TICK OVER
It wasn’t vintage Villa, but then again, what is that? This is the story of their season: keeping the momentum going without blowing too many teams away. It’s old news by now that the Villans are bottom-half material for both xG and xG conceded in 2025/26.
Morgan Rogers (£7.6m) teed up Watkins for the opener, having earlier set up the striker’s sitter with his closing down. Matty Cash (£4.8m) meanwhile banked his fifth attacking return of 2025/26; only five defenders have more.
As for Watkins, it’s now six goals and two assists in seven appearances – but will he start on Wednesday, given the pain management and the rests that Unai Emery has occasionally handed out in periods of fixture congestion?
