Aston Villa v Fulham: Preview, predicted line-ups and team news

Aston Villa have found a bit of momentum at just the right time. A 1-0 win at Newcastle on 17 October was followed by a 2-1 home win over Manchester City last Saturday, a result that lifted Villa to ninth on 11 points.

Fulham are the visitors under the Saturday night lights, and they have their own mini-run going. They beat Hull 1-0 at home and Coventry 1-0 away to move out of a bad early-season spell. The fixture is a chance for Villa to push towards the top half. For Fulham it is an opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three.

Villa's season has been uneven. They lost their first two league games, 4-0 at Brighton and 1-0 at home to Arsenal, and have taken 11 points from eight games. Their goal difference is minus three, with nine scored and 12 conceded.

Villa's home record is the problem. They have won one, drawn one and lost two of their four league games at Villa Park, and conceded six goals in those four matches. The City win was a welcome correction. They also needed a late flourish to beat Tottenham 3-2 away on 19 September, so they are not shutting games down.

Fulham sit 15th on eight points after eight games. They have won two, drawn two and lost four, and their goal difference is minus two. Their form is better than the table suggests, though, with two wins from their last two.

The problem is away from Craven Cottage. They have scored two goals in four league games on the road and won one of them. They have managed just 0.5 goals per away game, which is a heavy burden for a side facing a Villa team that has been porous at home. Fulham have kept three clean sheets in eight league games, and they are strong on the ball with 58% average possession.

Across their last eight league games Villa have won three, drawn two and lost three, scoring 9 and conceding 12. Fulham have won two, drawn two and lost four, scoring 8 and conceding 10. On the surface that is a narrow gap, but the direction of travel matters. Villa have won three of their last four, while Fulham have lost four of their first six. Fulham's two recent wins both came by a single goal against Hull and Coventry, a team in the relegation zone, so they have not yet been tested against a side at the level of Villa. Villa's wins, over City and Newcastle, were harder earned.

Villa are ninth on 11 points from eight games with a goal difference of minus three. They are level on points with Newcastle, Leeds and Brentford, and 10 points behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal's tally of 21 is a long way off. A win would take them to 14 points and into the top six conversation, with Brentford and Leeds both on 11.

Fulham are 15th on eight points from eight games with a goal difference of minus two. They are three points behind Villa and two clear of 18th-placed Nottingham Forest on six. A defeat would leave them exposed to a bunched bottom half, with Manchester United and Crystal Palace on seven points. A win would put them level with Villa and into the top half.

Villa have won eight of the last ten meetings and Fulham two, with no draws. Those games have averaged 2.7 goals, with both teams scoring in 50% and more than 2.5 goals in 60%. Fulham won the last meeting 1-0 at Craven Cottage on 25 April 2026. Before that, Villa had won 3-1 at Villa Park on 28 September 2025 and 1-0 at Villa Park on 3 May 2025.

The pattern is clear: Villa win this fixture, especially at home. Fulham's April success is a recent exception rather than a shift. The goals markets are a toss-up, with 60% over 2.5 pointing one way and both sides' current away and home records pointing the other. A narrow home win remains the most likely scoreline, and 2-1 is the correct-score lean.

Fulham have the edge in the underlying numbers. They average 14.38 shots and 4.5 on target per game over their last eight, against 11.38 and 3 for Villa. They also take 58% of possession, against Villa's 46.1%, and win 6.13 corners per game to Villa's 3.25.

Villa's response is how they use the ball. Their expected goals of 1.13 per game are below Fulham's 1.44, and their expected goals against of 1.61 is worse than Fulham's 1.37. That suggests Villa have been fortunate in places, but at home they can hit teams on the break. Fulham's possession will have to turn into chances against a Villa side that has conceded in six of its eight league games.

Both sides have played 4-2-3-1 in all eight league games this season and neither is likely to change. Villa are missing three players, so the back line is thin.

Aston Villa: Bizot; Cash, Pau Torres, Mings, Maatsen; Kamara, João Gomes; Garnacho, Buendía, McGinn; Jackson

Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Reed; Bobb, Iwobi, Palacios; Muniz