'Villa Park will be rocking tonight' at semi-final

As Villa Park braces itself for the Nottingham Forest second leg match, fans are preparing to see the club potentially make history by ending a 30-year wait for major silverware.

Paul Faulkner, former Chief Executive of Aston Villa, said the prospect of the club bringing home the Europa League trophy would complete a set of major winnings.

"In my time we even won the Peace Cup which is a bit of a footnote in history, but we haven't won the Europa League, so being able to do that [and] complete the set would be amazing," he said.

The Villans go into Thursday's second leg against Nottingham Forest trailing 1-0 from last week's first leg at the City Ground.

Before being the club's chief executive, Faulkner was their chief operating officer.

"Villa have got a rich European heritage and in recent years it's been great to see the club re-establish that," he said.

"It's so exciting, I think that, being a football fan, you follow your club through thick and thin but when you're in these semi-finals and it can go any which way, that's what football is about.

"Getting to wake up being excited, everyone talking about it and it could be joy or heartbreak but that's what makes sport so compelling and wonderful.

"Tonight Villa Park will be rocking."

One venue looking to partake in the festivities is the Witton Arms Pub in Aston, a stone's throw away from the football ground.

Kiran Chavda, owner of the fan favourite venue, said they were expected to serve 1,500 customers watching the high stakes match.

"I'm very nervous but excited, it's going to be brilliant," he said.

Food stalls, live music and a buzzing atmosphere are all on offer, the owner said, yet regardless of the final score on Thursday, Chavda said Villa's winning streak had given the pub a boost.

"We employ a lot of staff, and luckily, they can benefit on the back of the extra games that we weren't expecting.

"It helps a lot as we're a match-day venue, we rely on the football to make this pub survive.

"I have confidence in Villa but it will still be a nerve wrecking game."

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