Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Premier League clash between Fulham and Aston Villa, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Aston Villa will be looking to climb back into the top four of the Premier League when they travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions claimed maximum points in their last meeting with the Cottagers, as a brace from Ollie Watkins sealed a 2-1 away victory in February.
Match preview
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After accumulating 11 points during a five-game unbeaten run between August 24 and September 28, Fulham suffered a 3-2 defeat away against Premier League champions Manchester City prior to the international break.
The Cottagers certainty gave the Citizens a scare and were leading after the half-hour mark thanks to Andreas Pereira‘s opener, but Marco Silva‘s men were made to rue several missed opportunities and Rodrigo Muniz‘s late strike prove to be only a consolation, after earlier goals from Mateo Kovacic (2) and Jeremy Doku sealed the win for the hosts.
Although Fulham have slipped to eighth in the Premier League table, they are only three points behind Saturday’s opponents Aston Villa in fifth and Silva is hoping that his side’s defeat to Man City will give his players “courage” and “confidence” to make progress in the coming weeks.
Fulham will welcome a return to Craven Cottage where they have picked up seven of their 11 Premier League points so far this season, with wins over Leicester City (2-1) and Newcastle United (3-1) secured either side of a 1-1 draw with West Ham United – a game in which they were leading until the 95th minute.
Not since the 2011-12 campaign (four) have the Cottagers put together a longer unbeaten run on home soil, although matching that feat this weekend is not a given, as they have lost five of their last six league meetings with Aston Villa.
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Since losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal at the end of August, Aston Villa have put together an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions, including three successive wins and back-to-back draws in the Premier League.
The Lions’ memorable 1-0 Champions League win over Bayern Munich was sandwiched between Premier League draws with Ipswich Town (2-2) and Manchester United (0-0), sharing the spoils with the latter in their most recent match prior to the international break.
Chances were few and far between in a closely-fought contest with the Red Devils, with Villa registering just one of their 11 shots on target, but Unai Emery felt that the draw was a fair result and has taken positives from the fact that his team kept their first Premier League clean sheet since April.
Before preparing for a run of three consecutive home fixtures against Bologna, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, Aston Villa make the trip to Fulham having lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games in London – their eight wins in that time under Emery are as many as they achieved in their previous 48 top-flight matches in the capital.
Villa have, however, had mixed success away against Fulham, as they have won three, drawn two and lost five of their last 10 league trips to Craven Cottage, although two of those wins have come in their last three visits.
Fulham Premier League form:
Fulham form (all competitions):
Aston Villa Premier League form:
Aston Villa form (all competitions):
Team News
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Fulham are set to be without Carlos Vinicius (calf), Jorge Cuenca (ankle) and potentially Sasa Lukic who sustained a serious shoulder ligament injury on international duty with Serbia last weekend.
The absence of Lukic would likely see Emile Smith Rowe recalled to the starting lineup to operate in the number 10 role, with Pereira dropping into a deeper midfield position alongside Sander Berge.
Joachim Andersen withdrew from the Denmark squad due to an unspecified knock and he is set to be assessed ahead of kickoff. Issa Diop could be upon to start at centre-back alongside Calvin Bassey if Andersen is not deemed fit to feature.
As for Aston Villa, Saturday’s game will likely come too soon for long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings (both knee), even though they have both played for the Under-21s over the last fortnight.
John McGinn (hamstring) could also miss out, while Ezri Konsa, Amadou Onana (both hamstring), Jacob Ramsey (muscle) and Jaden Philogene (unspecified) are all doubts and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
This could be the game that Emery finally hands super sub Jhon Duran a start in attack alongside Ollie Watkins, while Ross Barkley could retain his place in midfield next to Youri Tielemans, with Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers operating out wide.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Barkley, Tielemans, Rogers; Duran, Watkins
We say: Fulham 1-1 Aston Villa
Aston Villa did the double over Fulham last season and will be confident of success again this weekend. However, the Cottagers have looked strong on home soil and will be no pushovers for Emery’s side. With that in mind, we can see the hosts frustrating the visitors and the spoils being shared.
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