Aston villa Vs Fulham Preview
Watch Aston villa vs Fulham as Aston Hosts Fulham in the Premier league premises at Villa park in Today meetings.
Unai Emery‘s men left it late to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday, while the Cottagers remain on the coat-tails of the top seven thanks to a 2-1 win over Leeds United.
The hitherto red-hot Ollie Watkins endured a fruitless afternoon at his old stomping ground, but with 87 minutes on the clock, a well-taken strike from Douglas Luiz denied Brentford all three points in front of their own fans and extended Villa’s unbeaten run to nine top-flight games.
Having failed in their bid to make it six Premier League wins in a row, Villa – who remain sixth in the rankings – missed a glorious opportunity to pile the pressure on their fellow Champions League chasers, and the gap to the top four stands at eight points after Newcastle United’s 6-1 humiliation of Tottenham Hotspur.
Cutting an optimistic figure after the game, Emery insisted that he was “so happy” to come away with a point from a taxing encounter in the capital, and there was every reason for the Spaniard to be pleased about his side scoring for the 21st match running under his wing.
A welcome return to Villa Park now awaits the Lions, who have won each of their last four home games against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United without conceding a goal, but a reinvigorated Fulham attack will put that defensive mettle to the test.
Team news and Injury
Due to a stomach bug which had been plaguing him before the game, Villa number one Emiliano Martinez only lasted until half time against Brentford before having to be replaced by Robin Olsen, who counted his lucky starts when Kevin Schade missed an open goal after the Swede spilled the ball into his path.
However, Villa are optimistic that Martinez’s illness will not impact his availability for Tuesday’s game, but the same cannot be said for Philippe Coutinho (thigh), Leon Bailey (thigh), Boubacar Kamara (ankle) or Matty Cash (ankle).
While Bertrand Traore and Jhon Duran could offer something a bit different from the bench, it would not be a shock to see Emery send out the same starting XI, as Watkins aims to increase his goal tally to 15 for the Premier League season.
In contrast, Fulham will be boosted by the return of Daniel James, who was unable to face parent club Leeds at the weekend, but Mitrovic must serve the fifth of his lengthy eight-game suspension.
Left-back Layvin Kurzawa continues to be troubled by a knee injury and may not return until next month either, but Silva should otherwise be working with a near-identical squad from the weekend, and Neeskens Kebano was able to make his welcome return from a long-term Achilles problem on Saturday.
The return of James could tempt Silva into an attacking alteration, with Bobby Decordova-Reid at risk of losing his spot in the XI as the effervescent pairing of Wilson and Willian continue to strut their stuff out wide.
Aston villa vs Fulham Head-to-head stats
Fulham have a slight historical edge over Aston Villa and have won 26 out of the 73 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Aston Villa’s 25 victories.
Aston Villa have lost only one of their last 18 league games at home against Fulham and have won their last three such matches against the Cottagers.
Fulham won the reverse fixture by a 3-0 scoreline and will be looking to complete a Premier League double over Aston Villa for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Aston Villa are winless in their last nine midweek games at home in the Premier League, with their previous such victory coming by a 1-0 scoreline against Arsenal in 2020.
Fulham have won all four of their midweek games this season and are one of only two teams to have a perfect record on Tuesdays in the Premier League this season.
Aston villa vs Fulham Prediction
Aston Villa have been exceptional under Unai Emery and have been particularly lethal in the final third. Ollie Watkins has come into his own under the new regime and will look to add to his goal tally this week.
Fulham have been inconsistent since the turn of the year but have managed to churn out a few good results this month. Aston Villa are the better team at the moment, however, and should be able to win this game.
