Before The Whistle: Aston Villa v Fulham

Four finals. And we start with a replay of the 2018 play-off final.

But seven years on, we’re both completely different clubs. Aston Villa are vying to finish in the Champions League spots for the second consecutive season and we’re battling for a place in the Europa Conference League.

The trouble is, Villa have well and truly had our number in recent games. They have won six of our last seven league meetings, with our solitary victory being the 3-0 win at Craven Cottage that sent Steven Gerrard packing and, ironically, strengthening our opponents further in the long run.

We’ll have to buck that trend if we’re to keep pace in this European race.

Thankfully, we’re not alone in facing tricky fixtures this weekend. Brighton host Newcastle and Bournemouth travel to Arsenal. And they say never back the early kick-off, so who knows, we could upset the apple cart. If we did, we would close the gap on Villa to just three points

It was a strange formation against Southampton as we battle a mini injury crisis. Marco Silva said this week that Rodrigo Muniz could be out for the season, but Antonee Robinson could be set to return.

There’s very little margin for error here. Let’s hope we rise to the occasion, like we did at Wembley all those years ago. You Whites.

ℹ️ MATCH DETAILS

Kick-Off: Saturday, 12.30PM
Stadium: Villa Park
Competition: Premier League
TV Channel (UK): None

🚦 LEAGUE FORM

Villa: ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Fulham: ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅

⚖️ MATCH PROBABILITY

Villa: 52.8%
Draw: 23.7%
Fulham: 23.5%

🥊 MOST RECENT MATCHES

Oct 24: Fulham 1-3 Villa
Feb 24: Fulham 1-2 Villa
Nov 23: Villa 3-1 Fulham
Apr 23: Villa 1-0 Fulham

🎙 NEW PODCAST: Viva Le Sessegnon-ance

We review Fulham’s 2-1 victory over already relegated Southampton that was secured by two second-half goals from ESR and Ryan Sessegnon.

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