Aston Villa vs Fulham Preview
- Villa to win
- Over 2.5 goals
Villa look to bounce back on home turf
After suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals and a 2-1 loss to Manchester City in their last Premier League outing, Aston Villa now see their Champions League ambitions hang in the balance. That defeat to City means Unai Emery’s men are now in danger of suffering back-to-back league losses for only the second time since the beginning of last season.
Villa Park, however, has proven to be a fortress. Emery’s side are unbeaten in their last 16 home league games (W9, D7), their second-longest streak in the Premier League. A positive result here would see them equal the club’s best-ever home unbeaten run in the competition, also achieved under Emery in 2023. They will have to achieve that without Marcus Rashford, who is ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury.
Fulham aiming for history against the odds
Fulham make the trip to the Midlands looking to close the gap to Villa to just three points. That task looks daunting considering their woeful record at Villa Park. The Cottagers have lost their last five league visits there and have only one win from their last 20 visits (D7, L12). They’ve also lost each of the last four Premier League meetings against Villa.
Marco Silva’s men do arrive with momentum, though, having picked up a dramatic 92nd-minute winner against Southampton last time out. That result continued their run of 14 straight matches without a draw (W7, L7), a trend that suggests a decisive outcome is likely again. Fulham had lost three straight away league games by a single goal before their win at St Mary’s and will now be eyeing a push to match or better their best Premier League finish of seventh.
Key players to watch
John McGinn (Aston Villa)
Set to make his 200th Premier League appearance, the Villa skipper has an excellent record against Fulham, contributing to four goals in seven H2Hs (G1, A3) with a personal record of six wins and one defeat.
Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)
The match-winner last week, Sessegnon has been extremely efficient this term, averaging a goal involvement every 69 minutes in the Premier League – a figure only bettered by Mohamed Salah among players with at least 400 minutes played.
Hot stat
Unai Emery has won all six of his Premier League meetings with Fulham.
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Aston Villa v Fulham, 2024/25 | Premier League