Jol: New-look Villa a threat

Fulham boss Martin Jol expects Aston Villa to pose a threat despite making several personnel changes.

Villa have lost several players in the off-season, including England internationals Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.

But Jol said Alex McLeish’s team still had enough quality to cause them problems in their English Premier League opener at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

“Of course, Ashley Young is a fine player, Downing is a good player but on the other hand they’ve got a few players in and they don’t have many injuries in their squad,” Jol said on Friday.

“With (Jean) Makoun in midfield with (Stiliyan) Petrov and (Darren) Bent up front, they’re full of good players.”

Villa did add Charles N’Zogbia to their squad and also brought in Shay Given to replace Brad Friedel as goalkeeper.

Jol, who took over after Mark Hughes resigned in June, said he was hopeful of leading Fulham to a higher finish than the eighth-place they managed last season.

“You’ve always got the hope and ambition that you can do better,” Jol said.

“As I said in the first week, I think Roy Hodgson and Mark Hughes got the maximum out of this squad, but of course you hope for me.”

“That is the ambition you need as a manager.”

Jol expects striker Moussa Dembele to be fit, but Simon Davies and Bjorn Helge Riise will both miss the clash.