Fulham will welcome Aston Villa to Craven Cottage this Thursday as both teams battle for three points in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Venue: Craven Cottage (London)
Key Statistics
Fulham have lost just one of their last six games at home.
The hosts have conceded 2 goals in the league this season. Only Leicester City (24) and Nottingham Forest (23) have conceded more goals.
They have scored only 26 goals and kept just six clean sheets in this fixture in the Premier League.
Aston Villa have eleven clean sheets in 28 PL meetings with Fulham.
The visitors are winless in their last seven away league games (D2, L).
They have scored just three goals away from home this season. Only Leicester (1) and Wolves (1) have scored fewer away goals in the league this season.
Head to head
In 28 Premier League meetings between both sides, Aston Villa have eleven wins while Fulham have six wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Fulham: D-L-L-W-L
Aston Villa: L-D-D-W-D
Fulham
Fulham will look to pick up their first win since after the international break when they host Aston Villa this Thursday.
The hosts enjoyed a strong start to the season and went into the international break with a strong 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. But since returning to league action in October, the London side have lost 4-1 to Newcastle and 3-1 to West Ham.
But they ended that losing run in their last outing where they held Bournemouth to a 2-2 draw–twice coming from behind to rescue the point. The result took their points tally for the season to 12 points (W3, D2, L4)–enough to keep them in their current eleventh position.
Despite their mid-table position, they are not out of danger as they are just five points ahead of 18th-placed Southampton. Things could change very quickly too as a loss in this game could take them down to 16th place. As a result, Marco Silva will be desperate for his side to win this game as they work towards securing their Premier League status for another season.
Having lost just one of their last six home games in the league, they will fancy their chances of getting a decent result against an Aston Villa side that are struggling away from home.
Possible Fulham starting line-up
Bernd Leno; Bobby Reid, Tim Ream, Issa Diop, Antonee Robinson; Harrison Reed, Joao Palhinha; Neeskens Kebano, Andrea Pereira, Daniel James; Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Injured: Manor Solomon, Layvin Kurzawa
Doubtful: Kenny Tete
Suspended: Nathaniel Chalobah
Aston Villa
Steven Gerrard’s job at Villa Park remains under threat after another loss in the Premier League.
Despite playing well, Aston Villa were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea last time out, with a brace from Mason Mount and a strong showing from Kepa Arrizabalaga condemning a wasteful Aston Villa side to their fifth loss of the season.
The poor start to the season which has seen them win just nine points from the 30 available has led to calls for Gerrard to be sacked. The former Liverpool player was booed by a section of the fans as his side succumbed to Chelsea despite playing well.
Gerrard has admitted that he will remain resolute in the fight to bring his team back to form and will not hide from responsibility. But he will be hoping for more support from his players, especially his attackers who have only scored three goals away from home this season.
For a team that has held an average possession of 50.7%, Villa are not doing poorly in terms of performance and ability on the ball. Their greatest undoing this season has been converting their chances–something Gerrard will hope they can correct when they face a Fulham side who have conceded the third-most goals in the league and who they have beaten in each of their last two meetings.
Possible Aston Villa starting line-up
Emi Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Jan Bednarek, Ashley Young; John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz; Philippe Coutinho, Emiliano Buendia; Ollie Watkins.
Injured: Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne, Boubacar Kamara, Ludwig Augustinsson
Doubtful: Cameron Archer
Suspended: None
Prediction
Fulham 1-2 Aston Villa
