At A Glance
Aston Villa head south to West London on Thursday night to take on Fulham in the Premier League.
The Villans are looking to pick up a first away win in the top flight this season, having drawn two and lost three of their road trips thus far.
Chances came and went as Steven Gerrard’s side battled hard in a 2-0 loss to Chelsea last time out, ending a four-game unbeaten run.
Fulham have enjoyed a solid start to life back in the Premier League after picking up three wins and three draws from their first ten games.
The Cottagers have won eight of their 12 points on home turf and will be looking to end a run of three games without a win.
Striker Aleksandar Mitrović has provided the majority of Fulham’s firepower this term, bagging seven goals in nine appearances.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa can equal their longest league winning streak versus Fulham of three games from 2003 to 2004.
Villa's 3-0 Premier League win at Craven Cottage in September 2020 ended a five-match away losing streak against Fulham in all competitions.
A Fulham win would give them 11 points from their six home league fixtures this season, one more than they managed in the entirety of their most recent Premier League campaign in 2020-21.
In Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, Fulham ended a run of 18 consecutive Premier League home defeats when conceding the first goal.
Fulham have gone eight top-flight matches without a clean sheet, conceding 18 goals, since a 0-0 draw with Wolves.
The Cottagers’ only two midweek Premier League victories in the past 17 attempts both came against Brighton at Craven Cottage.
Villa have not had a winless away run of more than five games from the beginning of a Premier League season since 2011-12.
Villa’s only win in the past 16 league games against London opposition was 2-1 at Crystal Palace last November.
Steven Gerrard lost only one of his 16 appearances as a Liverpool player against Fulham in all competitions, winning 12.
The Last Meeting
Trézéguet played the role of super sub as he climbed off the bench to grab a brace and help Aston Villa beat Fulham 3-1 at Villa Park in April 2021.
The Egyptian scored twice in three minutes to cancel out Aleksandar Mitrović’s opener.
Ollie Watkins rounded off the win when he turned home a cross in the closing stages.
Team News
Steven Gerrard says Cameron Archer has recovered from the bug that kept him out of Sunday’s defeat against Chelsea.
While the striker is available again, Villa will be without Lucas Digne, Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Ludwig Augustinsson.
For Fulham, Kenny Tete is unlikely to be fit for the game while Nathaniel Chalobah is serving a suspension.
Layvin Kurzawa and Manor Solomon remain out for the Londoners.
The Boss
“They’re a team that like to cross the ball; they’ve scored goals on the counter-attack as well this season. They’re recruited well and spent money to strengthen since they’ve come up. You can’t judge them like a newly promoted team because they’ve gone and strengthened in key areas; they’ve got an experienced manager. Every team has a punch, every team has quality and everyone can take points off each other. That’s the reason why if we have a big week – a week where we execute – this league will look different.”
Steven Gerrard
