BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest will take a short trip to Birmingham. 1-0 advantage They will face Aston Villa in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Both clubs are hoping to play in their first European final in decades.
It is the first time in 46 years for Nottingham. The Premier League club, which was on the brink of relegation, won the European Cup, the precursor to the Champions League, in 1979 and 1980 under the great Brian Clough.
Forest remain unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions, but it remains unclear whether key attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White will play after suffering. facial injury on monday 3-1 victory Premier League match against Chelsea.
Villa, the 1982 European champions, reached their second European semi-final in three seasons. They sit fifth in England’s top flight and have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League again after reaching the quarter-finals last season.
Villa need to end their losing streak at Villa Park with three games if they are to progress.
In the other semi-final, Bundesliga side Freiburg will need to overturn a one-goal deficit from a 2-1 loss to Braga in the first leg in Portugal.
Freiburg are enjoying their best season in Europe and Braga are hoping to reach the finals again after losing 1-0 to domestic rivals Porto in 2011.
The final will be held in Istanbul on May 20th.
In the third division of the Conference League, Crystal Palace won 3-1 against the exiled Ukrainian national team in Krakow, Poland last week, and are now in charge of a semi-final match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
If Palace qualify for their first trip to Europe, English clubs will appear in all three European finals.
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