Martin Jol aware of Aston Villa threat

Fulham manager Martin Jol has insisted that he will not be taking Aston Villa lightly when his side face them at Villa Park on Saturday.

The Cottagers currently occupy 10th place in the Premier League table, but they are eight points ahead of the relegation zone with eight games of the season remaining.

Paul Lambert's Villa have eased their relegation fears over the last month, winning three of their last four games to move out of the bottom three, and Jol believes that the Midlands outfit will provide tough opposition.

"If you see Villa's results, they have got quality," Jol told Sky Sports News. "They have got Christian Benteke, Andreas Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor, even Darren Bent on the bench.

"People keep telling me that they are young but I think they changed their system as well. They've had some fantastic results - if you think about Liverpool away from home a couple of months ago, for example.

"They've had some disappointing results, too, because it's a tough league but I still feel that if you look at their results, especially at home, they're okay. I think they are in the same situation as a lot of other clubs - if they pick up the points in the next couple of weeks, they will be fine."

Fulham ran out 1-0 winners when they last played Villa in October.