Fulham vs Aston Villa Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League action comes from Craven Cottage as Fulham, still eyeing Europe, welcome fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Villa are chasing a third straight league double over the Cottagers after winning 3-1 at Villa Park in September, while Fulham arrive short on goals. Marco Silva’s side have failed to score in four of their last five league matches and were held to a drab 0-0 draw at Brentford last weekend, needing a superb late Bernd Leno save to secure a point. Fulham sit 12th, but remain within touching distance of the top seven, three points behind seventh and five off sixth.

A key issue has been slow starts: Fulham have scored just four first-half league goals since the turn of the year, the joint-lowest in the division. A return home may help, with 29 of their 45 points coming at Craven Cottage and four wins in their last six there, including a 3-1 success over Burnley. Even so, their record against top-half sides is poor, and Villa have won three of their last four league visits to west London.

Villa, meanwhile, look set for a fourth consecutive top-seven finish and have boosted their Champions League push by taking seven points from their last three matches. After beating West Ham and drawing with Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery’s men edged a 4-3 thriller against Sunderland last weekend, sealed by a stoppage-time Tammy Abraham goal to keep them fourth.

A win at Fulham would move Villa above Manchester United into third and open up a sizeable cushion in the top-five race ahead of next week’s Europa League semi-final against Forest. Emery will want an upturn away from home, though, with just one win in Villa’s last seven league games on the road.

History is firmly on Villa’s side in this matchup: they have won six straight league meetings with Fulham, and Emery has a perfect Premier League record against the Cottagers, winning all eight of his games.

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Fulham are set to be without Kevin (foot) and Kenny Tete (ankle), while Alex Iwobi is also sidelined after suffering a thigh injury against Brentford.

Marco Silva could freshen up his midfield, with Sander Berge and Harrison Reed both pushing for starts ahead of Sasa Lukic and Tom Cairney. Out wide, January arrival Oscar Bobb and Samuel Chukwueze are options on the left. Up front, Rodrigo Muniz has started the last three but has not scored since August, so Raul Jimenez could return to lead the line. Emile Smith Rowe may also come in as the No.10 ahead of Josh King, with Harry Wilson continuing on the right.

Aston Villa remain without long-term absentee Boubacar Kamara (knee), while January signing Alysson is still not expected to be fit. Morgan Rogers could be used more centrally, which would put Jadon Sancho or Emiliano Buendia in contention on the left, and Lucas Digne is pushing Ian Maatsen at left-back.

Ollie Watkins should start again after scoring six goals in his last five games. He also has a strong record against Fulham, netting six times in nine appearances.

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