Preview: Fulham vs Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League offering comes from Craven Cottage, as European hopefuls Fulham play host to fourth-placed Aston Villa.

The Lions are looking to complete their third successive league double over the Cottagers, after claiming a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture at Villa Park in September last year.

Match preview

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).

Fulham Premier League form:

Fulham form (all competitions):

Aston Villa Premier League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Team News

Fulham will be without Kevin (foot) and Kenny Tete (ankle) due to injury, while Alex Iwobi will be assessed ahead of kickoff after picking up a thigh problem in the draw with Brentford last weekend.

Silva may consider shaking up his midfield, with Sander Berge and Harrison Reed both pushing to start ahead of Sasa Lukic and Tom Cairney, while January signing Oscar Bobb and Samuel Chukwueze are both contenders to start on the left flank.

Rodrigo Muniz has started the last three games up front, but he has not scored a goal since August, so Raul Jimenez could be recalled to lead the line. Emile Smith Rowe, meanwhile, may get the nod ahead of Josh King to continue in the number 10 role, as Harry Wilson continues on the right wing.

As for Aston Villa, Boubacar Kamara remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury, and January signing Alysson is still dealing with a fitness issue, so he is not expected to feature this weekend.

Should Morgan Rogers move into an advanced central position, that would open the door for either Jadon Sancho or Emiliano Buendia to start on the left flank, while Lucas Digne will be pushing to replace Ian Maatsen at left-back.

In-form Ollie Watkins is expected to lead the line once again; the England international has scored six goals in his last five appearances and has also found the net six times in nine games against Fulham, only scoring more against Brighton (nine) and Arsenal (seven) in his club career.

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Bobb; Jimenez

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Sancho; Watkins

We say: Fulham 1-2 Aston Villa

Considering the recent form of both teams and Aston Villa’s dominant head-to-head record over Fulham in the last few years, the visitors will be regarded as favourites to climb maximum points this weekend.

The Cottagers have lost their clinical touch in the final third and we are backing a Watkins-inspired Villa outfit to strengthen their position in the top five with a victory in West London.

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