Aston Villa v Fulham: Preview, Odds, Predictions (April 25)
Initial Thoughts
Aston Villa have been transformed by Unai Emery, and Fulham are back in business after Marco Silva’s return to the dugout. Both sides will feel they can win here, in a fixture that could have serious implications for the European places this campaign.
The Narrative
Fulham have enjoyed a more than respectable first season back in the top flight under Portuguese boss Marco Silva.
The Cottagers have resided in the top half of the table since late September last year, and reached as high as 6th place in February after a four game unbeaten run that included a draw against Chelsea and win against Brighton.
But since then things have gotten complicated. A 3-1 loss to Man United in the FA Cup saw both manager Silva and striker Aleksandar Mitrović receive lengthy bans for dissent, and results took a nosedive in the aftermath.
Fulham suffered four straight defeats in a row, losing to Brentford, Arsenal, Bournemouth and West Ham, and dropped to 10th place in the Premier League table.
But a 3-1 victory away to Everton appeared to get Silva’s side back on track, and last weekend the Cottages made it two wins on the bounce after seeing off Leeds 2-1 at home.
When Aston Villa parted ways with Steven Gerrard back in October the Lions had managed only a single win in their last nine matches and were 17th in the table, hovering just above the drop zone.
But since then Unai Emery has transformed the West Midlands outfit into one the Premiership’s most in form teams, powering the Villans up the table to within six points of the European places.
Villa have suffered only three defeats this year, with two of those coming at the hands of top two sides Arsenal and Manchester City. Emery’s side twice went ahead against the Gunners, and would have shared the points were it not for two very late injury time goals on the day.
Since that defeat Villa are on a nine game unbeaten run. But a five game winning streak came to an end on the weekend, when Dougals Luiz ‘s 87th minute equalizer rescued a point for the Villains against Brentford at the G Tech stadium.
Nuts and Bolts
Villa come into this one as the greater attacking threat, having found the net in all 21 of their matches since Unai Emery took over in November last year.
The Villains have racked up 13 goals in their last three games, and Ollie Watkins has been on fire - scoring 11 across the 12 matches leading up to that 1-1 draw against Brentford last week.
Fulham have been coping well in the absence of Mitrović as well - finding the net in all but one of their four matches since losing the Serbian striker back in mid-March.
Fulham ran out 3-0 winners when these sides last met back in October last year. But that was pre-Unai Emery so little can be read from the result. And Villa Park has been a fortress of late, with the West Midlands side winning their last four home games on the bounce to an aggregate score line of nine goals to nil.
If Villa can regroup and put in another solid home performance on Tuesday night, Emery's side could head into the weekend level on points with Tottenham Hotspur in 5th place and on the verge of an astonishing turnaround in this campaign.
Homestand Picks
All odds courtesy of Northstar Bets
With four straight wins in front of their home fans, we’re backing Villa for the win in this Premier League clash.
Ollie Watkins Over 1.5 shots on target (+112)
With 11 goals in his last 13 matches, Villa hitman Ollie Watkins is good value to record two or more shots on target on Tuesday night.
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