Aston Villa travel to Craven Cottage to face Marco Silva’s Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Unai Emery’s men are coming off of a disappointing defeat to Manchester United; however, their top-four aspirations are still alive.
Aston Villa sit just one point behind Tottenham, who occupy the fourth spot, having played the same number of games.
The visitors have plenty of injury issues, with several first-team players now out of action.
Boubacar Kamara is out for the season after sustaining an ACL injury during the defeat to United, and Diego Carlos pulled up in training with a hamstring issue.
Ezri Konsa is sidelined for several weeks after spraining his knee against Sheffield United.
The likes of Calum Chambers and Pau Torres could be thrust into Emery’s starting XI, having been out of contention just a few days ago.
As for the hosts, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey returned to training this week after their AFCON heartbreak for Nigeria and should be in contention for Saturday’s fixture.
Ahead of the game, BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton believes one of Villa’s injuries is a “serious setback”.
Chris Sutton delivers Aston Villa v Fulham Premier League verdict
In his weekly predictions, Sutton feels Kamara’s injury is a massive blow.
“Boubacar Kamara’s injury is a serious setback for Aston Villa and, with Fulham usually strong at home, this is a difficult game for Unai Emery’s side,” he told BBC Sport.
The former Celtic striker also feels this is a must-win game for Emery’s side, with the likes of Tottenham hitting form.
He added: “It feels like Villa have to win this, with Tottenham and Manchester United both hitting form in the race for the top four.”
Despite Villa’s lofty league position, the BBC Sport pundit has backed Silva’s side to get a point.
“But Fulham have started scoring again, with Rodrigo Muniz getting two goals in their win over Bournemouth last week, and I feel like they will get something here as well. 1-1,” he said.
This does feel like a must-win match for Emery. With the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United winning consistently, a poor run of form could put to bed any hopes of a top-four finish.
One big positive is the return of Tyrone Mings, with the 30-year-old returning to training on Thursday after sustaining a knee injury on the first day of the season against Newcastle United.
