Fulham Head Coach Scott Parker is not expecting to make sweeping changes to his side in the Emirates FA Cup, mainly due to a lack of healthy players to pick from.
Fulham and Aston Villa both have ambitions of being Premier League teams next season, but Parker insists he still wants to do well in the world’s oldest cup competition.
“I think for both of us the main priority is the league,” he said. “At the same time I do think that a cup run is always something that can get a team going in terms of the fans and stuff like that.
“We’ll respect this competition fully and go out there and try and get a result.
“Our squad’s pretty light at this present moment in time because we’ve got so many injuries, so the fit players who are around it and in a state to play will be the boys who are out there.
“Harrison Reed obviously came off the other day struggling with an injury, Steven Sessegnon’s picked up another slight issue with his groin.
“Tom Cairney is struggling from the Stoke game with his calf, and we’ve got a couple of other niggles, so there’s a few. Josh Onomah’s been ill as well.”
Saturday will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2018 Play-Off Final, but there’s been a reversal in fortunes since that fabulous day at Wembley.
“Aston Villa are in the Premier League now and, like I said after the game yesterday, sometimes you need a mentality and something deeper inside you to be a top team,” Parker stated.
“And certainly at this present moment in time, to go and challenge yourself against a Premier League side, who have brought in a lot of players, will be a very good test for our team.
“These are the moments that this team, and us as a football club, should be relishing. We’re up against a good team and we’re all looking forward to it.”