Aston Villa vs Fulham: Preview, team news, h2h, & tips as Iwobi charts Villains’ fall

Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are expected to start for Fulham when they travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa on Saturday. And for them, the task is simple to state and hard to execute. They have to stop an Aston Villa side that has not lost in the Premier League in four matches.

Unai Emery’s Villa head into Saturday’s Premier League fixture on the back of three league wins and a draw in October, with Nicolas Jackson’s finishing turning a slow start into genuine momentum.

Fulham arrive with pressure of their own eased rather than gone, two narrow wins having bought Alvaro Arbeloa breathing room, and Iwobi and Bassey will need big performances if that momentum is not to be extended at their expense.

Match Radar
Competition	Premier League, Matchday 9 (2026/27)
Kick-off	Saturday, October 31, 2026 — 8:00pm UK time (9:00pm Nigerian time)
Venue	Villa Park, Birmingham
Naija Watch	Iwobi and Bassey both expected to start for Fulham

Form And Context: Villa’s Unbeaten Run Meets A Fulham Side Finding Its Feet

Aston Villa have not lost in four Premier League matches, a run built on wins over Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester City either side of a draw at Brentford. That record is a league-only one, Villa having been beaten 3-0 away at Bournemouth in the EFL Cup fourth round on October 28, a result that has no bearing on their league form.

Nicolas Jackson has driven the upturn since his club-record move from Chelsea in August, scoring four goals in his seven Premier League appearances for Villa. Emery’s side have also tightened up at the back, and the pairing of an in-form striker with a settled defence leaves Villa capable of winning matches at both ends of the pitch.

Nicolas Jackson 26/27 so far. #AVFC https://t.co/vH3Yktn521

— (Fan) Connor (@AVFC_Connor_) October 30, 2026

Fulham’s league form has swung in the opposite direction over the same five matches. A goalless draw away at Liverpool, a 1-1 home draw with Manchester United, a 2-1 defeat away at Ipswich, then back-to-back 1-0 wins at home to Hull City and away at Coventry City.

That two-match winning run was then ended in the EFL Cup fourth round, where Fulham lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace on October 28, though that cup exit does not affect their Premier League form.

The away form remains the bigger worry for Arbeloa. Across their last three Premier League away matches, at Liverpool, Ipswich and Coventry, Fulham have failed to score more than one goal in any single game, and they have kept only one clean sheet in that run, at Anfield.

Josh King leads Fulham’s scoring this season with two goals and an assist from eight league appearances, and a lot will rest on him and the front line finding a way past a Villa defence in good form.

Head-To-Head Record (All Competitions)
31	22	27
Villa wins	Draws	Fulham wins

Aston Villa vs Fulham: Head-To-Head

Aston Villa and Fulham have met 80 times across their history, with Villa winning 31 and Fulham 27 and 22 draws completing the record. The most recent meeting, however, went Fulham’s way, a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage on April 25, 2026.

Villa have won four of the last five meetings between the sides, with that April defeat the only blot. That single result is now more than six months old, and with both squads having changed since, it carries no real weight on its own for Saturday’s match beyond showing Fulham are capable of frustrating Villa on their day.

Aston Villa vs Fulham: Team News And Predicted Lineups

Aston Villa — Outs And Doubts
Amadou Onana	OUT	Long-term knee injury
Lucas Ruggeri	OUT	Thigh injury
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	OUT	Hamstring injury

Onana’s absence remains long-term, while Ruggeri and Wan-Bissaka are both out with injuries picked up in training. Despite those issues, Emery retains strong attacking depth, with John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia, Facundo Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye all able to provide support behind Jackson, and with a Champions League fixture only three days away, some rotation among that group is possible.

Predicted Villa lineup (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Barkley; Buendia, McGinn, Manzambi; Jackson.

Fulham — Outs And Doubts
Ryan Sessegnon	OUT	Suspended
Emile Smith Rowe	DOUBT	Knock

Sessegnon is serving the final match of a ban picked up for a red card against Hull City, and he returns for the home game against Newcastle on November 7. Smith Rowe’s knock is a doubt that could leave Arbeloa short of attacking options from the bench if he cannot feature, though Iwobi and Bassey both carry on as certain starters regardless of those issues elsewhere in the squad.

Predicted Fulham lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson; Larsson, Charles; Bobb, King, Iwobi; Garcia.

Star Player Comparison: Nicolas Jackson Vs Alex Iwobi

Nicolas Jackson	Stat	Alex Iwobi
4	League goals	1
0	League assists	0
7	League appearances	8
Club-record signing from Chelsea	Why he matters	Senior Super Eagles international

Jackson’s finishing has been the single biggest factor in Villa’s revival, his four goals arriving in seven league appearances since his club-record move in August.

Iwobi’s season numbers look leaner on the sheet, a goal and no assists from his eight appearances, but his value to Fulham is less about the scoresheet and more about the control he gives their build-up play from the right side, alongside the defensive discipline Bassey offers at centre-back.

The Managers

Unai Emery has turned Villa into a side capable of competing on several fronts at once, with October’s results easing the scrutiny he faced after a slow start to the season, and Saturday is another chance for his team to show the corner has been turned for good.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s position at Fulham came under genuine scrutiny after a winless start to the league campaign, and the two home wins either side of the Ipswich defeat have bought him breathing room rather than removed the pressure entirely. A result at Villa Park, against a side playing with real confidence, would be the clearest sign yet that his Fulham side are heading in the right direction.

Aston Villa vs Fulham: Tactical Preview

Both sides line up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, which should make this a contest decided by execution rather than system.

Villa’s Kamara and Barkley sit deeper to free Buendia, McGinn and Manzambi to rotate around Jackson, with Cash pushing on from right-back to overload Fulham’s left side, the flank where Iwobi will be asked to track back as much as he attacks.

For Fulham, Larsson and Charles screen in front of a back four built around Bassey’s reading of the game, while Bobb, King and Iwobi look to break quickly once possession is won, feeding Garcia as the focal point up front.

How much Iwobi has to defend against Cash’s overlaps, rather than drive Fulham’s own attacks, could decide how dangerous Fulham are able to be at the other end.

Aston Villa vs Fulham Score Prediction

Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham

Villa’s attacking form, with Jackson central to it, gives them the platform to extend their unbeaten league run to five matches at home to a Fulham side that has struggled to score away from Craven Cottage.

Iwobi and Bassey, who just hit his 100th Premier League appearance, will give Fulham a base to work from, and a goal from Fulham’s front line should not be ruled out, but Villa Park should see the hosts edge a close, entertaining contest.