Aston Villa – Fulham

Recent form · Written before the match

Before this match, Aston Villa beat Newcastle 1-0 away on 17 October, drew 2-2 with Brentford on 10 October, and won 3-2 at Tottenham on 19 September. Fulham beat Hull 1-0 at home on 17 October, lost 2-1 at Ipswich on 10 October, drew 1-1 with Manchester United on 20 September, and drew 0-0 at Liverpool on 12 September.

Villa therefore shows a more favorable recent run, while Fulham has demonstrated an ability to get results away from home. The scheduled rest between the matches on 24 and 31 October is seven days for both teams, subject to a schedule change.

The cached xG, shots, and pressing values are not accepted as evidence, due to the lack of a verifiable provider in the pages consulted.

Head-to-head · Written before the match

The recent head-to-head results mentioned are Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham on 28 September 2025 and Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham on 3 May 2025. They give Villa a historical advantage, but their prédictive valeur is limited by possible changes in squads, coaches, and the season context.

Absences and returns

For Aston Villa, Amadou Onana, Matteo Ruggeri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Johan Manzambi were unavailable for the match against Viking announced on October 20. Ian Maatsen had returned to training.

Manzambi was described as slightly injured and Wan-Bissaka was expected to miss three to four weeks, but their status for Fulham is unconfirmed. Fulham indicated on October 23 that Ryan Sessegnon was suspended for three matches and that Hugo Larsson and Emile Smith Rowe were expected to return; this information concerned the October 24 match and does not confirm their availability or starting status on October 31.

Context & news

Villa may look to rely on its home advantage and superior recent form, but the sources do not make it possible to identify with certainty its pressing mechanism, box defending or effectiveness from set pieces. Fulham can disrupt this scenario by slowing the match down, exploiting transitions after Villa’s advances and potentially benefiting from the returns of Larsson and Smith Rowe.

Conversely, a weakened Villa lineup in midfield or défense, or confirmation of Fulham’s returning players, could reverse the expected balance. The cache places Aston Villa 12th with 8 points and Fulham 18th with 5 points after seven matches, but Fulham’s ranking is contradictory and is not treated as confirmed.

There is no first-leg score to take into account.

Lineups and squad

Aston Villa hosts Fulham at Villa Park on matchday 9 of the Premier League, with kickoff scheduled for 31 October 2026 at 20:00 UTC. The official schedule specifies that the time may still be changed.

The starting lineups, goalkeepers, and uncertain starters have not been announced.