Aston Villa vs Fulham – 2014
Lambert on Darren Bent and if he will feature for Villa again
“No, the club’s moved on.
“Darren has not really played for me for two years. Obviously he’s been on loan at Fulham, here we’ve had Christian’s form and that’s football. Whatever happens at the end of the season will happen.”
Lambert on Magath and Fulham
“What he has done is won some really big things. He knows the game inside out, so it’s a different mentality for the Fulham lads. This will be a tough game.”
Magath on Villa
“If you saw our game last week, we were very good at creating chances.
“We had a lot of chances against such a good team as Everton, and that shows me we can work just as well against Aston Villa, also. So I think we are prepared to play as well as we did last Sunday against Everton.”
Form is Temporary
Memory match:
13th April 2013: Aston Villa 1 Fulham 1
Villa played OK in this largely forgettable game, but it’s notable for a decent N’Zogbia goal and a rare Bowery start. An unfortunate Delph own goal cost us the three points that could have been vital at the time.
Aston Villa – Last five matches at home: W 3, L 2
Fulham – Last five matches away: D 2, L 3
Fulham have failed to win in their last five visits to Villa Park, drawing three times and losing twice.
One to Watch
Ashkan Dejagah – the Iranian winger has bagged a couple of goals against Liverpool and Newcastle recently and looks to be one of Fulham’s best attacking outlets at the moment.
Facts to Sweep Under the Carpet
A Fulham home fixture is always a match pinpointed by Villa fans for three points, but worryingly, we’ve never beat them under Lambert – in three attempts. It’s not a game that produces many goals either, and there have only been six goals in the last five encounters with Fulham. A look at the stats might cause concerns for Villa fans, and all the signals seem to point to another dull draw – or worse. News that Benteke will miss the rest of the season and beyond comes at a bad time for Villa after his goal-scoring of late, and it looks like Agbonlahor is set to miss the game too. Both absentees will fill Fulham with confidence. The lack of depth in some areas of the team is continuing to be a problem for Lambert’s men.
What We Pray the Football Gods Will Provide
The last two games summarised the very worst of Villa in many ways. As well as Villa can perform, it often seems a collapse is only an individual error away. A win against Stoke and we’d probably have been safe by now. The way we approached the Man United game at first was very encouraging, but we faded away and missed golden chances as the match went on. Again, consistency will be key to seeing off a determined Fulham side. Also, with Benteke out for months, it will be a good chance for Robinson and Helenius to show what they can do.
Why Villa have got this game in the bag
No game is a formality, and supporting Villa really is a rollercoaster ride at times. Approaching the Fulham game, at least our nerves can be calmed by the promising stats. Fulham have won just one of their last 12 away games, and have gone 15 without a clean-sheet. Also, the last time Fulham beat us at Villa Park was in 1999 in the FA Cup. Win this and Lambert’s men can both make amends for the Stoke performance and start looking upwards rather than downwards. UTV.
Odds
Villa 2.00
Draw 3.40
Fulham 3.85
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