Aston Villa vs Forest: 5 players to represent both clubs in the last decade - including Matty Cash

Aston Villa visit the City Ground on Monday evening to face Nottingham Forest in Premier League action.

The Villans come into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw with Leeds United, a result that sees their unbeaten run extended to three matches.

Steven Gerrard’s side could see the return of Matty Cash in their matchday squad, the full-back hasn’t featured since their 1-1 draw with Manchester City after suffering a hamstring injury.

However, Villa will be without Ludwig Augustinsson after he suffered the same injury against Leeds last week - he is expected to be out for three weeks.

As for Forest, they come into the game in poor form losing their last five league games and sit bottom of the table. Steve Cooper’s side have had a summer overhaul with 26 players signed, including loan deals, while 17 names left the club.

Monday’s fixture will be the first time in 23 years that the clubs have met in the Premier League, though they have faced each other several times in the Championship in recent years.

With that being said, let’s take a look at which players have represented both teams in the last decade, including Cash.

Ross McCormack - Villa 2016-19 | Forest 2017 (Loan)

The Scotsman had an interesting start to his Villa career after joining for £12m from Fulham in 2016. He made 22 of his 24 appearances for the West Midlands club between August of that year and January 2017, before departing for Forest on loan in the winter window.

McCormack made seven appearances for Forest in the second half of the 2016-17 campaign, scoring once and registering one assist.

Eric Lichaj - Villa 2007-13 | Forest - 2013 - 2018

The full-back spent five seasons at Villa Park, featuring 42 times in all competitions. He made his debut for the club in August 2010 in a 1-1 draw in a Europa League qualifying match against Rapid Vienna.

Lichaj was released by Villa in 2013 and joined Forest on an initial two-year deal. He enjoyed life at the City Ground, making 190 appearances for the club over the next five years, scoring six goals and registering seven assists - he was named their Player of the Year in 2017.

Henri Lansbury - Villa 2017-21 | Forest - 2012-17

The first player on the list to swap Forest for Villa, Lansbury impressed at the former mentioned club, scoring 33 goals, and providing 20 assists in 150 games, leading to his move to the West Midlands.

He spent almost three years at Villa Park before the mutual termination of his contract in January 2021, where he was part of their promotion-winning squad in 2019.

Lewis Grabban - Villa 2018 (Loan) | Forest 2018-22

The forward had a brief stint at Villa, joining the club on loan from Bournemouth for the second half of the 2017-18 campaign. He made 18 appearances in that time, scoring eight goals and registering one assist.

Grabban was released by the Cherries in 2018 and snapped up on a free transfer by Forest that summer. He spent four seasons with the latter mentioned club, featuring 149 times in all competitions.

The striker was Forest’s captain for their promotion-winning campaign last year but rejected a new deal with the club at the end of the season and was released shortly after.

Matty Cash - Villa 2020 - present | Forest - 2016-20

The current Villa right-back made the switch to the West Midlands from Forest in a £14m deal in 2020 and has been a key player since his arrival.

Cash, who has seven caps for the Polish national team, came through Forest’s academy and made his debut for the side in August 2016 in their 4-3 Championship win over Burton Albion. He was a regular for the club and was named their Player of the Season in 2020.

The 25-year-old has impressed since his arrival at Villa Park and could feature in his seventh league game of the campaign against Forest on Monday.