Fulham vs. Aston Villa: Look to This Market For ValueFulham vs. Aston Villa Odds Fulham Odds +185 Aston Villa Odds +155 Draw +230 Over/Under 2. 5 (-106 / -116) Day | Time Thursday | 2:30 ET How To Watch USA Network Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute soccer odds here. Aston Villa had one of the more unfortunate results of the entire Premier League season when the Villains lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea last weekend. Villa made one defensive error and conceded a free kick from outside the penalty area, but otherwise dominated the chances and shots in the match. The pressure is mounting on Villa manager Steven Gerrard to find some results after they expected to be in the top half of the table but find themselves in 17th with just nine points through 10 matches.
Kenny Tete has been out in recent weeks, but was close to a return at the start of October and could potentially make that return here. Nathaniel Chalobah will miss out as he serves a suspension. Aleksander Mitrovic brushed off fitness concerns at the weekend, so should be available once again. Fulham Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Kebano; Mitrovic Bench: Rodak, Adarabioyo, Duffy, Wilson, Cairney, James, Reid, Mbabu, ViniciusAston Villa team newsTyrone Mings suffered an ankle injury late on in the game against Chelsea, but is expected to be fine for the trip to Fulham.
They are dead last in big scoring chances allowed and 17th in box entries. Fulham have started to get exposed in their last few matches — conceding a full xG to Bournemouth and more than three to both Newcastle and West Ham. The defense is allowing the closest average shot distance in the entire league and is the only team allowing its average shot from within 15 yards.
Leon Bailey proved his fitness and is also expected to be available. Otherwise, there are no surprises expected regarding returns from injury, with Lucas Digne still not quite over an ankle/heel issue, Boubacar Kamara out for the rest of the year, and Diego Carlos still nursing an achilles injury. Aston Villa Starting XI (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young; Luiz, McGinn, Coutinho; Bailey, Ings, WatkinsBench: Olsen, Chambers, Bednarek, Sanson, Nakamba, Dendoncker, Ramsey, Buendia, BogardeWhile Villa head into the game with marginally better form and victories in the last two consecutive head-to-head contests, this one looks set to be closely contested. Fulham need to steady the ship and will be buoyed by a home crowd, while Gerrard's side appear very fragile despite the quality they possess on paper.
Fulham have overachieved expectations in their return to the Premier League at this point, but the underlying numbers tell a bit of a different story. A hot finishing run for the attack has masked pretty concerning defensive numbers under manager Marco Silva. The Cottagers are up in 12th in the table for now, but their xG difference suggests regression could be coming in a big way in the upcoming fixtures. As much as the Villa attack has struggled, they should be favored in this match because the defense remains stellar to this point.
The box entry numbers going forward suggest positive regression is coming for them in attack too. I know that I’ve been saying that for a while under Gerrard but the 2. 4 xG created against Chelsea is a glimmer of hope that maybe things will improve. For example, Villa are 10th in expected threat, a measure of possession in dangerous areas, and yet is just 16th in expected goals for. One encouraging sign is that Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins played up top together in the last match and tallied eight shots between them.
Fulham Over-Performing in Attack Fulham’s attack has run extremely well this season as it is just 16th in xG per 90 created. One major source of the attack is direct play up the wings and crosses into Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Cottagers are the most direct attacking team in the league and rank sixth in crosses completed into the penalty area. They have 16 goals from 11 xGF this season and have been due for attacking regression dating back to last season’s unsustainable over-performance in the Championship. Fulham are also offering very little resistance to opposing teams from getting into their own penalty area.
Villa have struggled to generate chances close to the goal all year but this could be the get right spot. Aston Villa Have the Best Group on the Pitch You may not like Aston Villa’s attacking numbers, but by far the best unit in this match is the Villans’ defense. Villa are excellent at stopping crosses — a major key against Fulham — and the defense has allowed the third fewest box entries in the league. Villa’s defense is elite and is one of the best of the non big six sides at this point.
Fulham vs Aston Villa live score, H2H and lineups | Sofascore Fulham Aston Villa live score (and video online live stream) starts on 20 Oct 2022 at 18:30 UTC time at Craven Cottage stadium, London city, England
Fulham vs Aston Villa: How to watch on TV live stream, team news, lineups & predictionAston Villa make the trip to London to take on Fulham on Thursday in search of a much-needed three points. A 2-0 defeat doesn't actually do justice to an improved performance against Chelsea at the weekend, but with Steven Gerrard now under immense pressure, results are becoming much more important than performances.
Fulham vs Aston Villa Live Stream, Predictions How to watch the Fulham vs Aston Villa live stream video. Predictions, H2H, statistics and live score. Premier League