Fulham and Aston Villa will be aiming to snap out of rough patches when they meet in a Thursday night Premier League fixture.
Fulham ended a run of two straight defeats as they battled to a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in their previous Premier League fixture. They played second fiddle to the Cherries for much of the contest but twice came from behind to earn the point thanks to goals from Issa Diop and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
While manager Marco Silva will be pleased with his team’s character to come from behind to earn the draw, the result means Fulham have now claimed just one win from their last five matches. The Cottagers are still sitting just outside the top half and will be keen to get things back on track.
Led by Mitrovic, who has eight goals this session, Fulham have shown a preference for attacking football. However, that style often leaves them exposed at the back and they have kept just one clean sheet in their 10 Premier League matches this term.
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has come under intense pressure as their campaign appears to be slowly unravelling in recent weeks. They have claimed just one win in their last seven matches and there is now renewed speculation linking Mauricio Pochettino to Villa Park.
A small positive for Aston Villa is that they have only lost once in their last five Premier League matches. That defeat came last Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Chelsea.
One similarity between Aston Villa and Fulham is that the Villans have also struggled to maintain their discipline at the back this season. They travel to Craven Cottage with just one clean sheet in their last six away matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
There is little to separate both teams among the bookies with a win for Fulham priced at 45/23 by SBK while Sport Nation is offering 17/11 for an Aston Villa victory. A draw is set at odds of 5/2 with Betfred.
Recent head to head
Recent meetings between Fulham and Aston Villa have been evenly split with both teams claiming three wins apiece from the last six fixtures. However, the Villans did the double over their rivals during the 2020-21 season, claiming a 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage before picking up a 3-1 win at Villa Park.
Players to watch
Aleksandar Mitrovic made a goalscoring return from injury as he netted the equaliser last time out against Bournemouth. The Serbian striker now has seven Premier League goals this season and is priced at 6/4 by bet365 to find the net on Thursday.
Aston Villa have not been particularly prolific this season but Fulham’s leaky defence means they could get a few scoring opportunities. Ollie Watkins was on target in the last meeting between both teams and could be backed to find the net on Thursday at 5/2 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have struggled defensively this season and with Fulham seeing over 3.5 goals in their last four matches, a repeat could be on the cards at 12/5 with BetVictor. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 10/11 by William Hill while both teams could be backed to score at 13/17 with SBK.
Fulham have opened the scoring in four of the last five meetings with Aston Villa and could be backed to grab the first goal on Thursday at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
This English Premier League match between Fulham and Aston Villa will be played on Oct 20, 2022 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Fulham vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
