Fulham vs. Aston Villa: Unai Emery with Pep Guardiola feat in sight at Craven Cottage

Unai Emery can move closer to matching a Pep Guardiola Premier League feat when Aston Villa play Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

Villa make the trip to Craven Cottage sitting in fourth position in the Premier League table, holding a nine-point advantage in the race for Champions League qualification.

Also holding a game in hand, the West Midlands outfit are realistically one victory away from guaranteeing their return to European football's top table.

With a Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest to come, it would be advantageous for Villa to take care of their Premier League business this weekend.

Although three points are the priority, Emery can also move closer to being regarded on the same level as Guardiola when it comes to a certain feat.

© Imago / Manual Stefan

What Guardiola streak is Emery close to equalling?

Aston Villa travel to West London having incredibly won their last six Premier League encounters against Fulham.

The last time that they suffered defeat to the Cottagers was in Steven Gerrard's last fixture in October 2022.

With Emery having also recorded two victories over Fulham when he was Arsenal manager, the Spaniard has prevailed in eight successive league fixtures against Fulham.

Guardiola is the only manager in the Premier League to have a 100% record across more matches against the same opponent, winning 10 times versus Watford and 12 against Fulham.

However, Fulham will be encouraged by Villa having failed to win any of their last four away matches in the Premier League.

At the same time, Fulham have recorded nine successes from 16 top-flight fixtures at Craven Cottage during 2025-26.

That all said, seven of their last eight victories in the Premier League have come versus teams starting the day in the bottom half of the standings.

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