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MATCH PREVIEW ~ Fulham welcome Aston Villa ~ Prem MD 08 ~ 24/25

last updated Friday 18th October 2024, 4:54 PM



Match Preview

Fulham vrs Aston Villa

Premier League Match Day 08 24/25 at Craven Cottage

Saturday 19th October 2024     KO: 15:00

Referee: Darren England (Barnsley)



Fulham manager Marco Silva
Fulham manager
Marco Silva
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Marco Silva
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His Wiki page
Aston Villa coach Unai Emery
Aston Villa coach
Unai Emery
His Wiki page
Fulham will welcome a return to Craven Cottage where they have picked up seven of their 11 Premier League points so far this season, with wins over Leicester City (2-1) and Newcastle United (3-1) secured either side of a 1-1 draw with West Ham United - a game in which they were leading until the 95th minute.

Not since the 2011-12 campaign (four) have the Cottagers put together a longer unbeaten run on home soil, although matching that feat this weekend is not a given, as they have lost five of their last six league meetings with Aston Villa.

After accumulating 11 points during a five-game unbeaten run between August 24 and September 28, Fulham suffered a 3-2 defeat away against Premier League champions Manchester City prior to the international break.

The Cottagers certainty gave the Citizens a scare and were leading after the half-hour mark thanks to Andreas Pereira's opener, but Marco Silva's men were made to rue several missed opportunities and Rodrigo Muniz's late strike prove to be only a consolation, after earlier goals from Mateo Kovacic (2) and Jeremy Doku sealed the win for the hosts.

Although Fulham have slipped to eighth in the Premier League table, they are only three points behind Saturday's opponents Aston Villa in fifth and Silva is hoping that his side's defeat to Man City will give his players "courage" and "confidence" to make progress in the coming weeks.

Aston Villa will be looking to climb back into the top four of the Premier League.

The Lions claimed maximum points in their last meeting with the Cottagers, as a brace from Ollie Watkins sealed a 2-1 away victory in February.

Since losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal at the end of August, Aston Villa have put together an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions, including three successive wins and back-to-back draws in the Premier League.

The Lions' memorable 1-0 Champions League win over Bayern Munich was sandwiched between Premier League draws with Ipswich Town (2-2) and Manchester United (0-0), sharing the spoils with the latter in their most recent match prior to the international break.

Chances were few and far between in a closely-fought contest with the Red Devils, with Villa registering just one of their 11 shots on target, but Unai Emery felt that the draw was a fair result and has taken positives from the fact that his team kept their first Premier League clean sheet since April.

Before preparing for a run of three consecutive home fixtures against Bologna, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, Aston Villa make the trip to Fulham having lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games in London - their eight wins in that time under Emery are as many as they achieved in their previous 48 top-flight matches in the capital.

Villa have, however, had mixed success away against Fulham, as they have won three, drawn two and lost five of their last 10 league trips to Craven Cottage, although two of those wins have come in their last three visits.


Head to Head

  • Fulham lost this exact fixture 2-1 in February last season – they’ve never lost consecutive home league games against Aston Villa before.


  • Aston Villa have won five of their last six Premier League games against Fulham (L1), including the last three in a row. It’s more wins than they’d managed in their previous 19 against the Cottagers in the top-flight (W4 D10 L5), while they’ve never won four in a row against them in their league history.
Fulham
  • Fulham are looking to remain unbeaten in four consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since a run of six in 2012.


  • The Cottagers are the only team in the division yet to score from a set-piece this season.


  • Marco Silva has lost four of his five league matches against Aston Villa.


  • Raul Jimenez has nine goals in his past 11 Premier League starts, including six in his last six at Craven Cottage.


  • Emile Smith Rowe made his competitive debut for Arsenal under Unai Emery, scoring three goals in nine appearances under the Spaniard.


  • Andreas Pereira’s 64 passes into the opposition penalty area this season is the most by any player in the Premier League.


  • Pereira has also created 16 chances from set plays, more than anyone else in the league.
Aston Villa
  • A Villa win would give them their best start to a Premier League campaign after eight games since 1998-99.


  • Villa could remain unbeaten in their opening four away league matches for the first time since 2006-07.


  • They could keep consecutive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since December 2023, when they won 1-0 against both Manchester City and Arsenal.


  • Their only defeat in 12 visits to London since Unai Emery’s appointment was a 5-0 loss to Crystal Palace on the final day of last season (W8, D3).


  • Emery has won all five of his league meetings with Fulham by an aggregate score of 15-4.


  • Jhon Duran averages a goal every 46 minutes in the Premier League this season, the best ratio of any player to feature for at least 90 minutes.









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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBC Sports
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