Match Preview
Fulham v Aston Villa
Premier League Match Day 03 2021 at Craven Cottage
Monday 28th September 2020 KO: 17:45
Referee:
Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
Live on Sky Sport
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Fulham welcome Aston Villa to Craven Cottage on Monday evening looking to end a two-match losing streak since their return to the Premier League.
Villa take on last season's Championship playoff winners on the back of three successive victories in all competitions.
From Fulham's perspective, manager Scott Parker will be torn between viewing this contest as a must-not-lose and seeing it as an ideal opportunity to make headway up the standings.
Being provided with an opening double-header against Arsenal and Leeds United left the Cottagers in a position where they were always going to find it difficult to get a point on the board during the early weeks.
With successive setbacks having now materialised, Parker must now assess the options in his squad having witnessed his second-string post two wins in the EFL Cup.
On the back of spending of £70m in the transfer market and agreeing long-term deals with Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish, Dean Smith knows that the stakes are now far higher than simply keeping the West Midlands outfit in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, with three successive wins to begin the season, Smith will be optimistic that everything is in place to ensure that Villa do not experience another battle to remain out of the relegation zone.
Although two of those victories have come against lower-league opposition in the EFL Cup, the 3-0 triumph over early Championship pace-setters Bristol City highlighted the depth of Smith's new-look squad.
As well as setting up a last-16 tie with Stoke City, Villa have also defeated Sheffield United in the Premier League, a result which partly came about due to an early dismissal for the Blades.
Beginning the campaign with three points has eased the pressure ahead of this game, however, and Smith will feel that his side can go in search of another maximum return.
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Fulham have won six of their last eight meetings with Aston Villa in all competitions (L2), winning each of the last three in a row (2017-18 Championship, 2018 Championship play-off final and 2019-20 FA Cup).
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Villa only managed one point from the four most recent Premier League encounters. Their most recent victory in this fixture was 1-0 at home in March 2012.
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Fulham haven't lost their opening three league fixtures since starting the 2014-15 Championship season with four defeats.
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Fulham have conceded seven times in their opening two league matches this season. The Premier League record for most goals conceded by a club in their opening three matches is 11 by West Brom this season.
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None of Fulham's last 21 Premier League games have finished level, with the Cottagers winning just five of these (L16), and shipping 45 goals in the process.
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Fulham have won 12 of their last 20 home league games
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Of the 12 league games Fulham has won at home, they scored first 11 times.
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Since his debut for the club in February 2018, Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored 39% of Fulham's league goals.
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However, Mitrovic has failed to score in all six competitive appearances against Aston Villa for Newcastle and Fulham.
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Following a six-game unbeaten run in Premier League meetings with Fulham (W3 D3), Aston Villa are winless in their last four clashes in the top-flight (D1 L3).
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Only West Ham United (45) have lost more games against newly-promoted opposition than Aston Villa (43) in Premier League history, with the Villans suffering six defeats in their last nine such away games (W2 D1).
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Aston Villa have earned just one point from their last 30 available in Premier League matches in London (D1 L9), since beating Tottenham 1-0 in April 2015.
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Aston Villa are looking to open a Premier League campaign with back-to-back victories for just the third time, with the Villans also doing so in 1995-96 and 1999-00.
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Aston Villa have lost 12 of their last 20 away league games.
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They have earned just one point from their past 10 Premier League fixtures in London since beating Tottenham in April 2015.
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Seven of their past nine Premier League goals have come from set-pieces: four corners and three free-kicks.