No shortage of storylines as Aston Villa prepare to face Nottingham Forest

Redditch-born Joe Lolley has made no secret of his Villa allegiances ever since breaking into the professional game in spectacular fashion with Kidderminster Harriers, writes Matt Maher.

Yet tonight he arrives at Villa Park a key component of a Nottingham Forest team who very much deserve to be considered among the promotion contenders.

Lolley, with six goals in 22 appearances from the wing, has this season finally found the consistent form and showed the potential which flashed only intermittently during four years at Huddersfield after leaving Aggborough.

“He has everything,” said Forest boss Aitor Karanka, after Lolley netted in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Hull, a victory which kept them seventh in the table, three points ahead of Villa.

Lolley is far from the only talking point in a Midlands derby not lacking intriguing storylines. Alan Hutton and Lewis Grabban, for example, could both be forgiven for approaching the fixture with a sense of what might have been.

Had Villa beaten Fulham in May’s play-off final, then it is almost certain Grabban, who scored eight goals in 18 appearances while on loan from Bournemouth, would be plying his trade permanently in claret and blue.

Instead the financial crisis sparked by the Wembley defeat took the 30-year-old a long way out of Villa’s price range even before he agreed a £6million switch to Forest.

A haul of 11 goals in his last 13 appearances provides proof of what a fine player he remains at Championship level, though Villa should really need no reminding.

Hutton, meanwhile, appeared on the brink of moving east across the Midlands in mid-June, to the point Forest were convinced they had their man.

But he ultimately decided to stay with Villa, signing a deal half the length of the one being offered at the City Ground and on considerably less money.

Extending his Villa career into an eighth season doesn’t seem such a bad choice now for the 33-year-old, not after scoring a goal for the ages in the win over Blues on Sunday. It is something of an understatement to claim life at Villa Park hasn’t always run smoothly for the Scot, who went two seasons without making a first-team appearance.

Right now, though, he couldn’t be happier.

“I think that is the main thing. I feel comfortable here,” said Hutton. “The new manager has come in and is allowing us to do what everyone wants – good football, passing and moving.

“It allows me to get forward and I am really enjoying it. I feel fit and strong.

“I had a couple of seasons when I wasn’t involved. But I always knew I had something to offer. It was tough to stick it out. I had to go on a few loan moves. But this was always where I wanted to play. I saw it out and hopefully, looking back, all it did was make me stronger.”

Tonight’s game is Villa’s latest of a series against fellow hopefuls, in a division with no standout team.

“If we are being honest, The league being close has helped us,” said Hutton. “We didn’t start the way we wanted, so everyone beating each other has helped. We are there or thereabouts and now we just want to push on.

“Even though it was an amazing performance and victory we know we need to keep our feet on the ground.

“We know we have big games coming up and if we want to achieve our aim, which is to get promoted, then we need to keep this run going.”