Aston Villa will travel to West London to face Fulham on Saturday, looking to get their top-four aspirations back on track.
Unai Emery‘s side are coming off the back of a damaging 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United but still sit just one point adrift of Tottenham, who occupy fourth spot.
Villa have typically reacted well to setbacks this season. The 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United was followed up with a 4-0 win over Everton. A 3-1 win over Burnley followed the 3-0 loss at Liverpool.
Carrying on, the 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest was followed by a victory over Fulham. It was the same case after the away loss to Manchester United and the home defeat against Newcastle.
This side can respond well, irrespective of who the opponent is.
This weekend’s clash against Fulham promises to be a tough assignment, with Marco Silva’s side improving of late.
Furthermore, the hosts could be boosted as two key players return to first-team contention.
Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey in contention for Fulham v Aston Villa
Nigerian duo Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey could line up against Villa on Saturday afternoon.
According to The Evening Standard, the duo are set to return following Nigeria’s AFCON final defeat to the Ivory Coast.
It’s believed the pair return to training this week and should be available for selection.
Iwobi completed a £22million move from Everton during the 2023 summer window (The Daily Mail). Bassey also joined in the summer, sealing a £19.3million move from Ajax.
With the duo’s value over £40million, this is certainly a welcome boost for Silva.
The trip to Craven Cottage will be a stern examination of Villa’s credentials, with the home side unbeaten in three matches and coming off of an impressive 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
The Villans also have to contend with several injury issues. Ezri Konsa is currently sidelined, with the 26-year-old out for a number of weeks, and Diego Carlos is also out after sustaining a hamstring injury in training.
The defensive duo follow Boubacar Kamara into the treatment room after the French midfielder’s season ended after he suffered an ACL injury during Villa’s loss to Manchester United.
With Carlos and Konsa out, forgotten man Calum Chambers could be in line to make only his second start of the season.
The 29-year-old was close to completing a January move to West Brom after being told he could depart by Emery, now the former Arsenal man could be handed a start by the Spaniard.
