Dean Smith confident Aston Villa can avoid a derby hangover against Nottingham Forest

Villa head into the game aiming for a fourth straight win to continue their climb up the Championship.

Sunday’s emotional 4-2 victory over Blues further boosted the mood at Villa Park, but Smith will work to ensure his players do not now fall flat, in what is a significant game against fellow promotion hopefuls.

Forest arrive sitting seventh in the table, a place and three points above the hosts.

Asked about the difficulty of following on the derby win, Smith said: “People were talking about that after we beat Derby earlier in the month and in the first 30 minutes on Sunday we were perhaps a little jaded.

“But the players know they have to be on top of their game to win in this league. We’ve got some firepower too, that is for sure.”

Villa have scored nine goals in their last three games and boast a 100 per cent record at home since Smith replaced Steve Bruce in the hotseat.

Though they remain seven points adrift of the top two, the boss believes they can make up the gap.

“Our aim has always been to get into the top two, that is where we are now as well,” he said. “We’ve won three games on the spin.

“This group knows how to win games. They did it enough last season and were unfortunate to fall at the last hurdle.

“We will just have to keep the run going. I’ve said it before, under Steve (Bruce), this team were good at home. Not many teams came and won here so let’s hope that will continue.”