Villa in search of maiden Premier League victory as Fulham clash looms.
Aston Villa vs. Fulham kicks off at 14:00 [GMT+1] on Sunday, September 28, at Villa Park.
A hard-fought 1-0 win over Bologna in the Europa League saw Villa get off on the right note in Europe. Meanwhile, Unai Emery’s team are searching for their first PL victory of the campaign and currently sit in 18th place following successive draws, one that leaves the Villans with just three points after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland [DLLDD]. It is the fourth time in their history that they have failed to win any of their opening five league fixtures. Villa’s record against Fulham offers some encouragement. The Birmingham side have won seven of their last eight Premier League encounters with the Cottagers, including the last five in succession since suffering a 3-0 defeat in October 2022. They are bidding for six straight league victories against the same opponent for the first time since a run versus Birmingham City between 2005 and 2010. At Villa Park, Fulham have long struggled, claiming just one win in their last 21 league visits, with that success coming over a decade ago in April 2014. Since then, the Cottagers have lost all six visits in a row. Despite this dominance, Villa will enter the game under pressure. They have failed to score in each of their last two home league matches, and another blank would see them go three without a goal at Villa Park for the first time since January 2015. They last began a top-flight season with three home blanks in 1946-47. It’s a record Unai Emery would be happy to avoid when he deploys the 4—2—3—1 formation with Ollie Watkins in attack.
Fulham have fared much better than Aston Villa. The Cottagers sit in 8th place, having amassed eight points. Their 2-0 win at Leeds was followed by a 3-1 home victory over Brentford, putting them on the cusp of three straight Premier League wins for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign. They have found a cutting edge in attack and remain confident of posing problems to Villa on Sunday, knowing a victory would see them climb dramatically up the table with only two points keeping them outside the top four. “It will be a tough game,” Fulham centre-back Joachim Andersen said. “Aston Villa is always difficult; we know their quality. We know they didn’t have the best start and maybe they’re feeling the pressure a little bit, so we need to take advantage of that,” he added. Marco Silva could leave Rodrigo Muniz in attack when he deploys the familiar 4—2—3—1 formation.