Aston Villa will put their five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League on the line when they visit Fulham on Saturday afternoon. The Villans looked leggy in their goalless draw with Manchester United before the October international break, but Unai Emery will hope his squad has been reinvigorated over the past two weeks as they seek to establish themselves as top-four regulars.
Hosts Fulham, meanwhile, were one of the form sides of the division prior to their visit to Manchester City. The Cottagers were beaten 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium but had chances to take more from the match and will have plenty of confidence ahead of this encounter. According to a preview from 90min, Fulham will aim to bounce back and assert their home advantage against a competitive Villa side.
Marco Silva has been dealt an injury blow with midfielder Sasa Lukic now sidelined, while Timothy Castagne also returned from Belgium duty with a knock and is unlikely to play on Saturday. Carlos Vinicius and Jorge Cuenca remain unavailable. Raul Jimenez has regained the starting striker spot from Rodrigo Muniz and is unlikely to relinquish it this weekend, despite Muniz scoring in the defeat at the Etihad Stadium. Fulham's predicted lineup against Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) includes: Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Pereira, Cairney; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez.
On the other hand, Unai Emery has been boosted by the news of Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings' returns from injury, with both available again after long absences. Mings has recovered following a severe knee injury suffered in August last year, while Kamara has also regained fitness after an ACL injury. Almost the whole Villa squad is available for the trip to Craven Cottage, with the exception of backup goalkeeper Robin Olsen. John McGinn and Ezri Konsa have both returned to training. Aston Villa's predicted lineup against Fulham (4-2-3-1) is: Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Barkley, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Fulham's forward-thinking approach was evident in their brave defeat to Manchester City before the international break, where poor finishing arguably cost them a draw or even a famous win. Villa, on the other hand, appear well-rested and prepared to chase a fifth league win of the season. While the Cottagers tend to accumulate most of their points at home, Villa are expected to pose a significant challenge and may inflict Fulham's first home defeat of the season.