The Premier League action this weekend continues into Monday night and the first of the two matches to kick off is between Fulham and Aston Villa. The game will be played at Craven Cottage with the hosts beginning the weekend in 18th place without a point to their name and the visitors in 9th place with 3 points.
Fulham started their Premier League campaign with a home match against Arsenal and fell to a 3-0 defeat. They conceded a goal after only 8 minutes and that made the game difficult for Fulham, who did not want to attack aggressively knowing they could easily be caught on the counterattack. Arsenal doubled their advantage shortly after half time and Fulham could not get back into the game.
Fulham encountered a similar problem in their second Premier League match of the season and they fell a goal behind early at Leeds United. However, this time Fulham managed to score an equaliser from the penalty spot before half time to get back into the match. Nonetheless, they crumbled in the second half, conceding 3 goals in the space of 16 minutes. Despite scoring two more goals themselves, Fulham could not force an equaliser.
The good news for Fulham fans this season has been their progress in the League Cup and they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at home in the competition on Tuesday night. However, Scott Parker will know his team need to improve defensively if they are to win games in the Premier League.
Aston Villa come into this match having picked up their first Premier League victory of the season last weekend. The sending off of Sheffield United defender John Egan help their cause and despite struggling to make the breakthrough, the winning goal came 18 minutes into the second half as Aston Villa won the match 1-0.
It was a good start to the season for Aston Villa who missed the first weekend of the Premier League campaign due to the involvement of their opponents in European competition at the end of last season. The victory over Sheffield United means Aston Villa are unbeaten in all of their last 7 matches in all competitions. That run includes victories over Burton Albion and Bristol City in the League Cup, the latter of which came on Thursday night and was a good 3-0 win.
Trends show Aston Villa have failed to keep a clean sheet in their most recent 19 away matches in the Premier League.
Looking ahead to the team news and Fulham will be relying on the goals of striker Aleksandar Mitrović. They have no major injury or suspension concerns ahead of the game.
Aston Villa travel without the injured trio of Björn Engels, Tom Heaton, and Wesley Moraes. New signing Ollie Watkins should keep his place in attack as he searches for his first Premier League goal for Aston Villa.
This is a big game for both clubs as it is one they will have each marked down for a potential victory. It should be a close game, with both teams scoring but Aston Villa look the stronger team and should come away with maximum points.