Seeking to close the gap to the Premier League's top five, Champions League-chasing Aston Villa play host to fellow European hopefuls Fulham at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime.
The Lions are looking to complete the double over the Cottagers for the second successive season after winning the reverse fixture 3-1 at Craven Cottage back in October.
Match preview
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After claiming a statement 4-1 home victory over top-five rivals Newcastle United, Aston Villa have since suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since the beginning of November last year, losing ground in the race for Champions League football and crashing out of the FA Cup.
Four days after conceding a gut-wrenching 94th-minute goal to lose 2-1 at fellow top-five contenders Manchester City in the Premier League, Villa were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley last weekend.
Unai Emery and co had previously exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, and they are now looking to bounce back from a difficult period, with the sole focus on their remaining four Premier League matches as they endeavour to achieve their "objective" of playing in Europe again next season.
Aston Villa, who currently sit seventh in the top-flight standings and three points behind both sixth-placed Nottingham Forest and fifth-placed Chelsea, are preparing for games against Fulham, Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United - they picked up five points from a possible 12 in the reverse fixtures against the quartet.
The Lions will fancy their chances of success on Saturday, as they have won six of their last seven meetings with Fulham and are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League homes games (W9 D7) - their second-longest run in the division after going 17 matches undefeated between March and December 2023.
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After losing three of their first four Premier League games in the month of April, Fulham looked on course to suffer another defeat at the hands of already-relegated Southampton as they were trailing last weekend's contest 1-0 heading into the final 20 minutes.
However, the Saints were undone by a late Fulham fightback as goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Ryan Sessegnon, the latter of whom heading home a 92nd-minute winner, secured three valuable points for the Cottagers and their seventh away win of the campaign.
Following a disappointing dip in form, Marco Silva stated after the win at St Mary's that his side want to "reignite the flame to fight for what we want", with their primary focus on European qualification, which remains a realistic possibility.
Indeed, Fulham sit eighth in the table and can close the gap on seventh-placed Aston Villa to three points with a win on Saturday, before taking on Everton, Brentford and Man City in their remaining three league fixtures.
Securing maximum points at Villa Park could prove challenging for Fulham, though, as they have only come out on top in one of their last 20 league visits to Aston Villa (D7 L12), losing their last five in a row since a 2-1 success in April 2014.
Team News
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Aston Villa's only injury absentee is Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford, who missed last weekend's FA Cup defeat with a hamstring injury and is set to remain sidelined for the rest of the season.
However, Axel Disasi is available to return to the matchday squad after the Chelsea loanee was cup-tied last weekend. The defender is set to battle with Matty Cash for a start at right-back as Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres compete for a place at centre-back alongside Ezri Konsa.
Jacob Ramsey could be recalled to start on the left side of midfield, but Emery may be tempted to stick with John McGinn, who is poised to make his 200th PL appearance, while Ollie Watkins will lead the line in Rashford's absence and will be looking to add to the 15 PL goals he has already scored this season, nine of which have been netted at Villa Park.
As for Fulham, Rodrigo Muniz (muscle) and Reiss Nelson (thigh) remain sidelined, but Silva has confirmed that Antonee Robinson is available for selection after missing the win at Southampton with a knee injury.
Robinson is set to be restored at left-back and that could allow Sessegnon to push forward and operate on the right flank, although he faces competition from Harry Wilson, Willian and ex-Aston Villa man Adama Traore for a start.
Midfield duo Smith Rowe and Sasa Lukic will both be hoping to force their way back into the first XI, while Raul Jimenez is set to lead the line and will be looking to end a six-game goal drought in the top flight.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, McGinn; Watkins
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Berge; Sessegnon, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez
We say: Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham
Fulham have already beaten the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea this season and they have the players at their disposal to cause a wounded Aston Villa outfit problems this weekend.
Having said that, the Lions boast a strong home record, not losing in front of their own fans since October last year, and we expect Emery's men to bounce back from their recent wobble to claim three valuable points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
