Fulham vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-10-18 14:00.
[p]The international break would’ve provided a welcome chance for Fulham to recover from their gutsy 3-2 defeat against champions Manchester City last time out – their first Premier League defeat since going down 1-0 not too far away at Manchester United on the opening day. Sandwiched between those defeats is a trio of league victories and a pair of draws, and a haul of 11 points which sees Marco Silva’s men begin the weekend in eighth place.[/p]
[p]The majority of those points have been won at Craven Cottage (W2, D1), and they would’ve boasted a perfect record if it wasn’t for Danny Ings’s 95th-minute equaliser for West Ham that forced a 1-1 draw. The Cottagers will be hoping to leverage that home form to not only secure a win that would see them leapfrog upcoming visitors Aston Villa in the table, but also put an end to a painful three-game losing H2H run.[/p]
[p]Villa would love to keep that streak going, as it’ll see them achieve four consecutive league wins over Fulham and back-to-back league victories at Craven Cottage for the very first time in their history. Unai Emery’s troops will also be keen to get back to winning ways after successive stalemates in the Premier League and doing so could see them break into the top four, at least temporarily anyway. [/p]
[p]The positive from their drab 0-0 draw with Manchester United was that the Villains managed to keep a Premier League clean sheet for the first time in 12 games. Another stubborn defensive effort here will go a long way in protecting a proud record they own, that being they’ve lost just once in their last 12 visits to London in the top-flight (W8, D3). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Rodrigo Muniz found the net for Fulham at the Etihad Stadium before the international break, but seven of his eight goals before that all came at home, including one against Villa here last season. Ollie Watkins scored twice that day to earn his side a 2-1 win, a brace that took his personal goal tally against Fulham to five, of which four have been scored after half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: The team scoring first has gone on to win in 13 of the last 14 H2Hs.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Peter Stavrinou[/i][/p]