Aston Villa v Fulham - Match Preview
last updated Friday 08th November 2002, 10:14 AM
Fulham and Aston Villa and come into this Barclaycard Premiership encounter off the back of solid victories in the Worthington Cup, in a week that saw many top flight teams crash out of the competition.
Fulham boss Jean Tigana is considering letting Andrejs Stolcers loose at Villa Park on after the forgotten striker's man-of-the-match performance in the 3-1 Worthington Cup win over Bury.
The 28-year-old Latvian hit a brace - his first goals for 22 months - to secure the comfortable victory at Loftus Road.
Tigana will be pleased with the extra option he now has up front with Stolcers' return to first team action. Jean Tigana's long-term options have been making headlines this week, and the uncertainty hanging over his future will be a concern to both supporters and club.
His future at the London club remains uncertain, after he avoided questions about the pressing topic.
"It is not about me," insisted the former French international. "The priority is always about the club and the players. When I leave the club will still be here. I love the club but it is the club which is most important."
|
| |
A.Villa |
Fulham |
Div
Avg |
| Games Played |
12 |
12 |
12 |
| GOAL ATTEMPTS |
| Goals |
7 |
16 |
14 |
| Ave Goals Per Game |
0.6 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
| Shots (excluding blocked shots) |
143 |
131 |
126 |
| Ave Shots Per Game |
12 |
11 |
11 |
| % Shots On Target |
34% |
46% |
43% |
| % Goals To Shots |
5% |
12% |
11% |
| PASSING |
| Short Passes |
2883 |
3201 |
3075 |
| Long Passes |
1381 |
1558 |
1410 |
| Total Passes |
4264 |
4762 |
4485 |
| Ave Passes Per Game |
355 |
397 |
374 |
| % Overall Pass Completion |
70% |
72% |
73% |
| CROSSING |
| Total Crosses |
374 |
277 |
274 |
| Ave Crosses Per Game |
31 |
23 |
23 |
| Completion |
26% |
27% |
25% |
| DEFENDING |
| Goals Conceded |
11 |
15 |
14 |
| Ave Goals Conceded Per Game |
0.9 |
1.3 |
1.2 |
| Tackles |
253 |
435 |
339 |
| Ave Tackles Per Game |
21 |
36 |
28 |
| Tackles Won % |
75% |
74% |
72% |
| Blocks, Clearances & Interceptions |
465 |
527 |
521 |
| Ave Blocks, etc., Per Game |
39 |
44 |
43 |
| DISCIPLINE |
| Fouls |
165 |
181 |
166 |
| Ave Fouls Per Game |
14 |
15 |
14 |
| Yellow Cards |
18 |
21 |
19 |
| Fouls per yellow |
9 |
9 |
9 |
| Red Cards |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| stats from opta |
|
Aston Villa Manager Graham Taylor appears to be slowly turning round Villa's fortunes, with two consecutive draws, at Ewood Park and Old Trafford followed by a convincing 3-0 victory over Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Wednesday.
Villa will certainly take heart from the win at Oxford, but Taylor did admit afterwards that his side were a little fortunate:
"When the goals came, they came in the manner that we have not had in the Premiership - the goalkeeper has dropped one and the second was a slight deflection and the keeper lets it go as well - those are the things that have not been happening to us and they happened and you are always grateful for it."
The former England coach will be hoping for a bit more luck in the League so his team can begin to convert draws into wins, and move away from the relegation zone.
Villa who finally seem to be getting their season of the ground. A good win for The Villians on Saturday could finally kick-start their Premiership campaign, but Taylor's men will have to perform well if they are to turn over Tigana's stylish Fulham, who will be desperate to rediscover their early season form.
| MATCH BETTING ODDS |
Graham Taylor's time at Villa Park looked to be about to come to an end when he was given three matches to rescue things - away to Manchester United and Blackburn in the Premiership followed by a potentially-humiliating trip to Oxford in the Worthington Cup. But deserved draws at Old Trafford and Ewood Park and a 3-0 stroll at the Kassam Stadium means things are suddenly looking a bit more promising for the former England boss.
The visit of Fulham is a hard game to weigh up however.
Jean Tigana's side have put together plenty of useful performances recently, especially in the UEFA Cup, but they've also managed to lose to both Southampton and West Ham. There's a suspicion that their busy schedule - remember they played in the InterToto Cup - might just be about to catch up with them and the fact they lost this fixture last year is also a worry (though wasteful finishing cost them dear that day).
Villa's home form hasn't been bad though (they've won 10 of their 12 points at Villa Park) while Fulham have only won once away so a much-needed success for Taylor's men could be on the cards.
source: bettingzone by Jonathan Turner
Fulham are 750/1 to win the Premiership with Blue Square with 1/4 the odds available for the top 3 places.
|
|
Matchday Referee: Andy D'urso, Billericay, Essex
Andy D'urso was previously a 38-year-old bank manager from Essex by trade, but in keeping with the recent trend has recently abandoned his previous profession in favour of full-time refereeing.
He is one of the Premiership's youngest referees and was only appointed to the Premiership list three seasons ago, but soon received a welcome from Manchester United's Roy Keane. It was D'urso who was famously chased round the pitch by half the United team when he awarded a penalty against them during the 1999/2000 season.
That controversy returned at the start of 2001/02 when he failed to award Manchester United two penalties in the Charity Shield against Liverpool. But nevertheless, D'Urso is still a respected referee across the entire country - except Salford.
(Ed. In his 6 games so far this season Mr. D'Urso is issuing yellows at a slightly faster rate than last year and is therefore still faster to the whistle than 99% of the Ref's. He is blowing on average every 3 mins!
His last Fulham game was the Southampton home clash last season when he booked 2 Soton players. Before that game he had nothing to do with us since Jan 2000 when he booked Morgan and Peschisolido. )
2001/
2002
stats
|
Mr. D'Urso's score sheet |
Average Premiership Referee score sheet |
|
Total |
Match
Avg |
Total |
Match
Avg |
| Games |
23 |
|
16 |
|
| Fouls |
625 |
27.2 |
472 |
29.8 |
| Penalties |
3 |
0.13 |
3 |
0.19 |
| Yellow cards |
75 |
3.3 |
49 |
3.1 |
| Red Cards |
9 |
0.39 |
3 |
0.19 |
| Fouls per Yellow |
8.3 |
|
9.7 |
|
| Fouls per match |
27 |
|
30 |
|
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|
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Source
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