Fulham vs Aston Villa Predictions: Villa can put recent dip to bed

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa travel to the capital to take on Fulham on Saturday (15:00) as they look to reignite their push for a Champions League spot.

The Villans suffered their third defeat in four games in all competitions last week as Manchester United took all three points from Villa Park; only the second side to do so in the league this season.

The Cottagers, meanwhile, brought an end to their six-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth, although they were arguably fortunate to come away with anything given that the Cherries had over three times as many shots as Fulham.

Team News

There’s good news for Fulham boss Marco Silva as Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi have returned to the squad after helping Nigeria to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, while defender Tosin Adarabioyo could be on the cusp of returning from injury.

Full-back Kenny Tete is also in contention to return to the matchday squad but Mexican striker Raul Jimenez remains absent, with young forward Rodrigo Muniz expected to lead the line once more after bagging a brace last weekend.

Injuries are beginning to plague Aston Villa after midfielder Boubacar Kamara limped off in their defeat to United last Sunday, with the Frenchman now out for the season.

He joins the likes of Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos, Jhon Duran, Emiliano Buendia and Ezri Konsa on the treatment table, with rotation expected in the starting line-up.

Match Odds

Aston Villa are the favourites to come away from Craven Cottage with all three points at 5/4, whereas Fulham are at 15/8 to keep the points in West London.

The draw can be backed at 11/4, while Villa striker Ollie Watkins is the favourite to open the scoring at 11/2.

Aston Villa to win @ 5/4

It has been a season to remember for the claret and blue side of Birmingham, with Unai Emery’s men looking to be potential surprise title contenders at the turn of the year.

A slight dip in form in 2024 however has seen the Villans fall away from the leading pack, now occupying fifth place and eight points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Fulham meanwhile have had a difficult campaign at times, and their win over Bournemouth last weekend was their first in the league since December.

Historical meetings with Villa have rarely gone their way, losing four of their last five against their Saturday opponents, including the reverse fixture at Villa Park in November.

With Emery’s men looking to keep the pressure on the top four, expect the Villans to continue their hot streak over the Cottagers with another victory.

Under 2.5 Goals @ 6/5

Goals have been relatively hard to come by in games involving either of these two sides in recent weeks, with three of Villa’s last four away games seeing no more than one goal scored.

It is a similar story at Craven Cottage, where four of Fulham’s last five fixtures have failed to break the three goal barrier and, therefore, a tightly fought contest could be on the cards with goals at a premium.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.