One of the multiple 3:00 pm kicks off on Saturday will feature Fulham playing at home as they welcome Aston Villa in matchday eight of the Premier League season.ย
Both sides will be looking to gain three points in this game but the away side will be seen as heavy favorites to come away with a win.ย
ย The home side will head into this fixture as underdogs on Saturday afternoon when the Villans come visiting. The London club finished 21 points and nine places behind their next opponents last season and a feeling of what could have been may loom for Fulham. Like Villa, Fulham were looking to progress up the table and into the European spots but unlike Saturday’s opponents, they were unable to bring that goal to fruition.ย
The loss of Aleksandar Mitrovic and their inability to replace him left a hole in the team last year and they are in danger of having the same issues this season. Tosin Adarabioyo and Joao Palinha, two players who made up a key part of Fulhamโs core, have also left the club over the summer. In terms of squad strength, the Cottagers have been weakened and are in danger of having a worse season than the last.ย
The objective for Fulham this season will be to move up to the top half of the Premier League table but the odds will be against them. With their current squad, another lower mid-table finish would be a decent season for the London side.ย
Aston Villa, on the other hand, will be looking for more of the same this season. Unlike Fulham, they are on a forward trajectory and look like they will continue to get better. The number one goal for Unai Emeryโs men this season will be to play UEFA Champions League football once again next year after qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1988. To do that, they have invested in the squad to bolster their ranks.ย
Aston Villa will know that when teams outside the traditional top six qualify for UEFA Champions League football, they usually fail to keep their status in that position ( with a recent example of this being Newcastle United) and they will try their best to be the exception to the norm this year.ย
One of the best traits of Unai Emeryโs team last season was their form/performance away from home. There were not many teams better than them on their travels and the 28 points they managed on their travels stands as proof of that. They had the fourth-best points tally away from home in the league and will need to be just as good, if not even better this year on their travels.ย
Their excellent away form has come mainly because of how solid their defensive structure is and how devastating they can be on the counterattack. The villains are known to be one of the most stubborn teams in the League and their defensive solidity combined with how dangerous their attack can be in transition situations makes them the worst team a home side can face.ย
Last season, Fulham were one of the victims of Aston Villaโs great away form as the Cottagers lost 2-1 at home. In the 23rd minute of the match, Ollie Watkins opened the scoring for the Villains before making it 2-0 11 minutes into the second half.ย
The home side had more of the ball in the game and were rewarded when Rodrigo Muniz scored in the 63rd minute to make it 2-1 but Fulham did not have enough about them to turn the tide of the match around before the full-time whistle was blown.ย
Villa would once again take a result like this gladly and move on to their next Premier League fixture against Bournemouth at home.ย
Match Tickets
ย Tickets for the match between Fulham vs Aston Villa tickets can be found online for fans looking to purchase. The home fans will come in full force and the 25,700-capacity stadium will be full to the rafters for their club.ย ย
The game will be played at the Craven Cottage in London on Saturday, 19th of October at 3:00 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sportsโ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the leagueโs broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
Fulham will also go into the game with all their players fit as there are no injuries to worry about currently. They will be at their strongest for the visit of the Villans and will hope the quality in their squad as well as the support of the home crowd will give them a good enough push to get a strong performance and result.ย
The Villans will be favorites for this match but will be without Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara in the team due to injury. These are two important players for them but they should have enough cover in central defense and central midfield to travel to Fulham and win the match.ย
Lineups
Fulham will play this match with their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation withย Willian and Alex Iwobi providing width, Andreas Pereira playing as the number 10 behind the striker and Bernd Leno in goal.ย
Fulham: Leno; Tete, Ream, Bassey, Robinson, Willian, Lukic, Reed, Iwobi, Pereira, Muniz.ย
Unai Emeryโs squad will feature new signings like Amadou Onana, Jaden Philogene and Ian Maatsen in the starting lineup while regulars like John McGinn, Paul Torres, Matty Cash and last seasonโs top scorer, Ollie Watkins will also feature.ย
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Bailey, Tielemans, Onana, McGinn, Philogene, Watkins.ย
Prediction
It will be a difficult match for Fulham to win even though they are at home but they will try to frustrate Aston Villa and force the away team into making mistakes.ย
Villa will come to this match with a better team than the one they faced Fulham with at this ground last season and Fulham will have an arguably weaker team than they did last year. If the Villans can play to their strengths, they should be able to get the three points they need due to the gap in quality.ย
Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa
