Prediction: Fulham vs Aston Villa

Prediction: Aston Villa win

Best Odds: 23/10

Bookmaker: bet365

The new year brings a lot of joy to a lot of football fans all around the country, and one of the primary reasons for that is the return of the FA Cup. The magic of the cup is still felt by many, despite the fact that you could argue the spark of the competition has been lost as the years have gone on. Today, we’re going to look at a game that will likely be much closer than you’d imagine as Fulham prepare to host Aston Villa at Craven Cottage in the third round.

Fulham

The Cottagers have certainly done a solid job of bouncing back in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League, to the point where it’s not unrealistic to think they could be one of the favourites to go up through the playoffs when the time comes. However, they need to make the right sort of adjustments during the January transfer window, because they’ve shown some big signs of inconsistency over the course of the last few weeks – and they need to rectify that pretty quickly.

Team News

Fulham have injury problems of their own with Reed, Arter, Le Marchand and McDonald all being ruled out whereas Mawson, Onomah and Cairney are doubtful for the visit of Villa.

Aston Villa

The injury concerns surrounding Aston Villa Football Club continue to worsen with each and every passing week, to the point where many believe it’s going to seriously harm their ability to remain in the Premier League. Dean Smith needs to act fast during the January transfer window by bringing in a string of new faces, whilst also maintaining the cohesion that he’s been able to build during the first few months of the season.

Team News

Mings’ return from injury was welcomed but the season-ending injuries of Wesley and Heaton, to go alongside McGinn, Targett & Steer, has ensured that there are going to be some changes around the club in the next few weeks.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting, Fulham beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the 2018 Championship play-off final.
• Fulham have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six games.
• Aston Villa have won three and lost three of their last six games.
• Fulham have scored eight goals and conceded nine in their last six games.
• Aston Villa have scored nine goals and conceded nine in their last six games.

Conclusion

Fulham’s inconsistency in recent weeks has given us cause to believe that this one may not go quite as well as they’d hoped. Villa may be stretched in terms of the many injuries they’ve got to deal with, but we still think they’re a much better side throughout the core of their team than Fulham. It’ll be tight for long periods of the game as always seems to be the case in the FA Cup, but the Midlanders will pull away and book their place in the fourth round.

Prediction: Aston Villa win

Best Odds: 23/10

Bookmaker: bet365