Aston Villa are hoping to continue their ascent up the Premier League table as they lock horns with Fulham at Villa Park this weekend.
Aston Villa are currently 9th in the Premier League with 11 points from eight games. It's been a slow start to the season under Unai Emery following a summer of squad overhaul, but the pieces are now starting align nicely and the team's form is improving.
In the league, Villa are unbeaten in their last four, winning three of those. Most recently, the team ran out 2-1 winners over Manchester City at Villa Park in a significant result for the side.
In all competitions, Villa have lost just one of their last nine, winning seven of those. That defeat was a 3-0 loss at Bournemouth in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, but given it was a heavily rotated starting lineup it's not a result that will concern fans too much.
Nicholas Jackson is proving to be a shrewd piece of business for Villa, with the striker bagging six goals in his last six appearances for the club. He'll return to the starting lineup this weekend and will be confident of scoring.
Fulham, meanwhile, are 15th in the league with eight points from eight games. The Cottagers have found life tough under Alvaro Arbeloa but have shown signs of improvement of late, winning both of their last two in the league (albeit against two of the three newly promoted sides).
In the EFL Cup, Fulham were beaten 0-1 at home by fellow strugglers Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, a result that won't have gone down too well with fans.
Aston Villa generally dominate this fixture and have won six of the last seven head-to-head meetings between the two teams. Fulham haven't won at Villa Park since 2018 - when the two sides both played in the Championship - and we don't think they'll put an end to that streak here.
Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham
