Match Preview
Fulham vrs Aston Villa
Premier League Match Day 34 25_26 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 25th April 2026, KO: 12:30
Referee:
Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Live on TNT
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Fulham play host to fourth-placed Aston Villa in Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League offering at Craven Cottage.
The Cottagers are looking to avoid Villa completing their third successive league double over them, after Villa claimed a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture at Villa Park in September last year.
Goals have been hard to come by for Fulham in recent months, as they have failed to make the net ripple in four of their last five Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 25 games combined. They most recently played out an uneventful goalless stalemate with West London rivals Brentford last weekend.
Bernd Leno produced a man-of-the-match-worthy save in the 90th-minute to help the Cottagers claim a point on their travels, leaving Marco Silva’s side siting 12th in the table but only three points behind the Bees in seventh and five points adrift of Brighton in sixth spot.
Fulham’s aspirations of a first European campaign since 2011-12 remain alive, but their sluggish starts to matches must be addressed. With just four first-half goals since the turn of the year - a league low shared only by relegated Wolves - the Cottagers need to find their rhythm much earlier to sustain a top-seven push.
Silva’s troops will welcome Saturday’s return to Craven Cottage where they have accumulated 64.4% of their Premier League points this season (29/45), winning four of their last six home league games (L2) including their most recent 3-1 victory against Burnley at the end of last month.
However, Fulham have won just one of their last nine top-flight matches against teams starting in the top half (D2 L6) and have been beaten in three of their last four home encounters with Aston Villa (W1), so securing maximum points is far from a formality this weekend.
Aston Villa are all but certain to secure a fourth consecutive top-seven finish in the Premier League, and their bid for a second Champions League appearance in three seasons has been bolstered by a seven-point haul from their last three top-flight matches.
Following a 2-0 win over West Ham and a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery’s side prevailed in a seven-goal thriller against Sunderland at Villa Park last weekend, with Tammy Abraham netting in stoppage time to seal a 4-3 victory and consolidate fourth spot in the table.
Victory on Saturday against Fulham would see Villa climb above Man United into third and move 11 points clear of Brighton in sixth spot, cementing a top-five finish and providing the perfect cushion for the Lions to turn their full attention to next week’s intriguing Europa League semi-final against Forest.
Emery will be keen to rectify his team’s recent away form, as Villa have won only one of their last seven Premier League matches on the road (D3 L3). The Lions have dropped points in each of their last four away games against Bournemouth (1-1), Wolves (2-0), Man United (3-1) and Forest (1-1); not since November/December 2024 (five defeats) have they endured a longer winless away run.
Villa can at least take comfort from their recent record against Fulham, having won each of their last six head-to-head battles with the Cottagers; only against Coventry have they won more consecutively in the division (seven between 1995 and 1998). Emery, meanwhile, boasts a 100% win rate as a Premier League manager against Fulham (8/8).
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Having lost just two of their first 13 Premier League home games against Aston Villa (W5 D6), Fulham have now lost three of their last four against them at Craven Cottage (W1).
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Aston Villa have won their last six Premier League games against Fulham, since a 3-0 loss in October 2022. Only against Coventry have they won more consecutively in the competition (7 between 1995 and 1998).
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Fulham have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 25 combined. They’ve had 71 shots over these five games and scored just three times, a conversion of 4.2%.
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Since the start of 2026, no team has scored fewer first half Premier League goals than Fulham (4, level with Wolves). Between August and December this season, only seven teams had more first half goals than the Cottagers (11).
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Seven of Fulham’s last eight Premier League wins have come against sides who started the day in the bottom half of the league. They’ve won just one of their last nine against teams starting in the top half (D2 L6).
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Fulham’s Bernd Leno has started each of their last 145 Premier League matches, the longest ongoing run of any player for any side. Only five players have had longer runs of starts in Premier League history: Brad Friedel (310), Tim Howard (210), Pepe Reina (183), David James (twice, 166 and 158), and Kasper Schmeichel (149).
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Aston Villa have won one of their last seven away Premier League games (D3 L3) and are winless in four (D2 L2). They last had a longer winless run on the road in November/December 2024 (5 defeats).
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Aston Villa have conceded at least three goals in three of their last five Premier League matches – as many as they had in their previous 38 games combined. They averaged under a goal per game conceded in those 38 games (0.95), compared to over two per game in the last five (2.2).
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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has won all eight of his Premier League games against Fulham – only Pep Guardiola has a better 100% record against an opponent in the competition (12/12 vs Fulham, 10/10 vs Watford).
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Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has six goals in nine Premier League appearances against Fulham – he has only scored more against Brighton (9) and Arsenal (7).
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBCSports