Aston Villa will travel to London to take on Fulham in the Skybet Championship at the back of a derby win against Birmingham City in the Second City derby. The West Midlands outfit are in sensational form and have won their last six league matches which have seen them climb up to 2nd place in the league table. Steve Bruce’s men are in line to secure an automatic promotion to the Premier League if they can continue their good form going into the final stretch of the season. However, both Derby County and Cardiff City are hot on their heels so there will be no room for complacency when the Villans face-off versus the Cottagers on Saturday.
The recent history of the fixture does not favour either team with both clubs winning two matches each in their last four league meetings. Steve Bruce is expected to opt for his favoured 4-1-4-1 formation versus the Londoners and could hand another start to Birkir Bjarnason at the centre of the park.
4-1-4-1 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Fulham
Defence
Sam Johnstone will start in goal for Villa and might be protected by a back four of James Chester and John Terry in central defence while Ahmed Elmohamady plays at right-back and Alan Hutton operates on the left side of the backline.
The Villans defence has kept five clean sheets in their last seven league matches and Villa boss Steve Bruce will be hoping that his backline can keep the Fulham attack at bay on Saturday.
Midfield
Birkir Bjarnason is expected to be deployed as a deep-lying holding midfielder while Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane operate in front of the Icelandic midfielder at the centre of the park. Hourihane got his name on the scoresheet against Birmingham City in their last league outing and will hope to repeat the feat during the clash at Craven Cottage as well.
The club’s top scorer Albert Adomah will start on the left flank and hope to add to his goal tally of 14 goals in this campaign. Robert Snodgrass will look to cut in on his stronger left foot and create some chances while operating on the right side of the midfield. Snodgrass scored the winner versus Sheffield United a few weeks ago to make the difference on the night so he will be a threat to the Cottagers defence.
Attack
Scott Hogan is expected to the lead the lines for the Villans up top. He has scored three goals in his last four league appearances and will be looking to better his record when he laces up to take on the Fulham backline this weekend.
