Aston Villa return from the international break with a tough trip to Fulham in the Premier League.
Aston Villa saw multiple players get international call-ups and Unai Emery will hope they’ve all returned to Bodymoor Heath in good health ahead of a hectic period.
Villa travel to Fulham on Saturday before hosting Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday and Bournemouth the following weekend.
Emery could be boosted by Leon Bailey’s return, who was spotted in Villa training alongside Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage.
Meanwhile, striker Ollie Watkins also aims to break one Aston Villa Premier League record this weekend, with a prediction for the clash now shared.
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Paul Merson predicts the scoreline of Fulham vs Aston Villa
Fulham have enjoyed a great start to the Premier League season. Marco Silva’s men were unfortunate to lose 3-2 against Manchester City last time out having accumulated more xG than the champions.
Aside from that, the Cottagers have only tasted defeat to Man United on the opening day, seeing off Leicester City, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, placing them in eighth position.
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has sent a warning to Aston Villa as he believes it will be a ‘really difficult’ game for the visitors, and it’s hard to disagree.
Predicting a 1-1 scoreline, Merson wrote in his column for Sportskeeda: “When you’re already involved in the Champions League, that becomes a huge challenge. Villa were expected to beat United so that could be a bit of a disappointment for them. I still think Jhon Duran should be on the bench and not start ahead of Ollie Watkins.
“If you’re the manager, and it’s not going well, it’s a nice feeling to know that you can call someone like Duran from the bench. That’s not the same if he starts and Watkins doesn’t provide the same impact as a substitute.
“I’m really tempted to pick Fulham to win this one, but I’m going to play it safe here by calling it a draw. This will be a really difficult game for Villa, no doubt.”
Ollie Watkins eyeing Aston Villa record vs Fulham
Ollie Watkins is fresh from assisting off the bench against Greece and Finland during the international break for England.
Fellow strike partner Jhon Duran came off the bench to score against Chile in a 4-0 win but the 20-year-old will most likely start on the bench once more.
As Merson mentioned above, bringing the Colombian on for Watkins or someone else late in a game is a dynamic that has worked prolifically, with Duran scoring five match-winning goals this term.
At most other clubs in world football, the former Chicago Fire forward would be guaranteed a place in the starting XI but unfortunately at Villa, he isn’t.
Heading into the trip to Fulham, Watkins can become the first Villa striker to score five Premier League goals against the Cottagers. The Englishman is currently tied with Juan Pablo Angel and Darius Vassell, adding further motivation to clinch all three points this weekend.
