Fulham v Aston Villa - Preview and Prediction
Villa manager Martin O’Neill has this week hailed Fulham manager Roy Hodgson for the exquisite progress he is making at Craven Cottage. There’s no doubt that Fulham have come on leaps and bounds since Hodgson took charge in December 2007. With the club struggling despondently to stay in the Premier League last season, Fulham managed to win their last three games against Manchester City, Birmingham and Portsmouth to secure their status in the top flight.
Hodgson’s appointment had been met primarily with more than a few raised eyebrows. Despite being a successful manager on the continent, Hodgson endured a torrid time as Blackburn manager in 1997.He is only a few years younger than Graham Taylor and Howard Wilkinson - both of whom found Premiership life critically difficult. However, Hodgson has clearly enjoyed being back in England and Fulham have enjoyed a magnificent season. The highlight was undoubtedly a superb 2-0 victory against Manchester Unted in March.
The visit of Villa to Craven Cottage will make for an interesting game. Roy Hodgson will want to recover quickly for last week’s 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and the side still have an outside chance of finishing as high as 7th in the table,
Villa finally returned to winning habits with a 1-0 victory over Hull at Villa Park and Martin O’Neill is keen to end the season on a high. Villa face late tests to key men Ashley Young and Stiliyan Petrov before O’Neill names his side. One man who is certain to play is full back Nickey Shorey. The Villa left back has been in terrific form since returning to the side and has surely done enough to secure his future at the club.
Fulham’s Aaron Hughes is likely to play against his former side. Hughes signed for Villa in May 2005 for a small fee of £1m but made just 64 appearances in a claret and blue shirt before moving to Fulham in June 2007.
I think this will be an classic match with both sides looking to attack freely and win the match. Fulham and Villa are both capable of creating plenty of chances and I wouldn’t be surprised to see quite a few goals. John Carew is on fire for Villa at the moment and I can see him adding a few more to his tally on Saturday. Confidence is so vital in football and Villa’s win over Hull on Monday evening should now be a platform to build on. But they will have to be on top of the game on Saturday.
My Prediction:
Fulham 2 Aston Villa 3
