Fulham chases miracle as Aston Villa’s fortress faces ultimate test | OneFootball

Aston Villa and Fulham face each other this Saturday during Matchday 35 of the Premier League, and the team that loses could find it tougher to qualify for a European tournament next season. Villa comes under scrutiny after being beaten out of the FA Cup and losing to Manchester City in the league, while Fulham somewhat more at ease is still seeking consistency away from home, with a poor away record against this side. It's a contest of direct weight, no concessions, with tension over beauty.

Villa seeks to rediscover itself after two consecutive blows

Unai Emery's team lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semifinal, which rocked the morale of the team. In the Premier League, too, they're on a losing streak: 2-1 against Manchester City. Even with that, they're at seventh place with 57 points and still very much in the hunt for a European spot. Home ground might turn out to be the deciding factor. Villa has never lost at Villa Park in 16 consecutive league games. There have been nine wins and seven draws. Since suffering that home defeat against Arsenal in their first home fixture, they've made their ground an uncomfortable place for even the giants.

Fulham will pull off a shock where it tends to be short

Fulham has 51 points and is in eighth place and holds a mathematical chance to achieve continental competition. Marco Silva's team rides a 2-1 win at Southampton and enters this head-to-head showdown having nothing to lose. There is a record against them, though: Fulham has lost its last five road games to Aston Villa. Overall, they've won just once in their last 20 visits to Villa Park. Their most recent win was back in 2014. Since then, they've been perennial visitors and perpetual losers. Current figures paint the picture of two widely diverging paths

Aston Villa won six of the last seven head-to-head home and away encounters in the Premier League against Fulham. They had four wins on the bounce. The sole exception was a 3-0 away loss in October 2022. Fulham is, however, on an irregular streak: there were no drawn games out of the last 14 Premier League games. There were seven wins and seven losses.