Fulham v Aston Villa Preview and Prediction

On Saturday evening, Fulham and Aston Villa go head-to-head for a place in the Premier League next season.

The team’s finished third and fourth respectively in the Championship last season. The Cottagers only missed out on automatic promotion by two points. A last day defeat at Birmingham cost the Cottagers an automatic promotion spot. Meanwhile, Villa finished seven points behind the top-two.

Fulham ended their season in decent form. However, the Cottagers have now lost two of their last three league outings (including the play-offs). A record of 13 wins from their last 15 outings in the second tier is certainly a good one. Slavisa Jokanovic defeated Derby 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals to make it to Wembley.

Aston Villa heads into this game having beaten Middlesbrough 1-0 over two legs in the semi-finals. The two-legged tie saw two very cagey games, in keeping with the Villans recent Championship outings, as six of their last seven games in the second tier have produced under 2.5 goals.

The Midlander’s stellar recent defensive record in the league is a big factor in those low-scoring games, as Steve Bruce’s side have managed to keep clean sheets in five of their last seven league matches, conceding just two goals in the process.

Top Football Bookmakers

This game is really tough one to call. Both teams will be heading into the clash with the belief that they can clinch a place in the Premier League for next season.

Prediction

Fulham win and/or under 2.5 goals