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

Aston Villa beat Manchester City last Saturday, and they have not scored fewer than one goal in either of their last two league games. That is a long way from August, when they lost 4-0 at Brighton and then 1-0 at home to Arsenal.

The table still shows a side in the middle. Villa are ninth on 11 points from eight games, with a goal difference of minus three. Fulham are the visitors on Saturday night, and a home win would lift Villa closer to the top-half pack.

Villa have won three of their last eight in the league, drawn two and lost three. Two of those wins have come away from home, at Tottenham (3-2) and Newcastle (1-0), while Villa Park has been less friendly: one win, one draw and two defeats from four home games.

The goals have been scarce. Villa have scored nine in eight, an average of 1.1 per game, and conceded 12. Their expected goals figure over that spell is low for and high against, which suggests the City win was not a sign that all the problems are fixed.

Fulham are 15th on eight points from eight games, three behind Villa. They lost four of their first six league games, then won 1-0 at home and Coventry 1-0 away. It is their first back-to-back league win of the season.

They have kept three clean sheets in eight and average 58 per cent possession over that run, the highest of the two sides by some distance. Their problem is converting it: eight goals in eight games, and only two on the road.

Villa's last eight league games read three wins, two draws and three defeats, with 9 goals scored and 12 conceded. Fulham's read two wins, two draws and four defeats, with 8 scored and 10 conceded. Both sides have the same number of recent wins at the moment, but Villa's two most recent results are both victories over sides in the top eight, while Fulham's came against lower-table sides. Fulham's underlying numbers are the better of the two, with 1.25 expected goals per game against Villa's 0.9, so the form lines flatter the hosts a little.

Villa sit ninth on 11 points from eight games, level with Newcastle, Leeds and Brentford, and five behind third-placed Brighton on 16. Fulham are 15th on eight points from eight, three behind Villa and two clear of Manchester United and Crystal Palace, who are on seven. Nottingham Forest and Coventry are in the bottom three on six points.

A Villa win would stretch the gap to six points and push them towards the top six. A Fulham win would level them on 11 points and drag Villa back into the pack.

There have been 10 meetings in the supplied record and none has been drawn. The goals average 2.7 per game, with both teams scoring in half of them and more than 2.5 goals in six. Villa have won four of the last five, and Fulham's only win in that run was the 1-0 at Craven Cottage on 25 April 2026.

The pattern points towards a close finish with a decisive result. Four of the last five meetings were decided by two goals or fewer, and no game was drawn, which supports a result bet. The goals line is harder to call. The 60 per cent over 2.5 rate in this fixture runs against both sides' current numbers, because neither Villa nor Fulham has played a game with more than 2.5 goals in their own scoring this season.

Fulham have the edge in most of the process numbers. They average 13.6 shots and 4.4 on target per game against Villa's 11.1 and 2.9, and they win 6.4 corners per game to Villa's 3.1. Villa concede 4.6 corners per game, so Fulham should have a lot of set-piece chances.

Villa's counter is the finishing. They have scored in the first 15 minutes in three of their nine league goals, and Fulham have scored just 0.5 goals per away game. If Villa score first, Fulham's lack of away goals makes it hard to come back.

The game kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Saturday 31 October. Premier League rights in the UK sit with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, and the game is shown on Sky Sports where selected. We could not confirm the exact channel, so this page will be updated closer to kick-off.

The strongest angle is the low-scoring home win. Neither side has scored more than two goals in a league game this season in either of their own scoring numbers, and Villa's recent results have been narrow ones. The result and goals lines carry the weight here, with the scorer leg as the extra.