Aston Villa v Fulham predictions, betting tips and odds

Where to watch Aston Villa v Fulham

BT Sport 2, 7.45pm Tuesday

Best bet

Ollie Watkins first scorer
1pt 15-4 bet365, Hills

Aston Villa v Fulham odds

Aston Villa 3-4
Fulham 7-2
Draw 29-10

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Aston Villa v Fulham team news

Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez is expected to play after a bout of illness but Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Leon Bailey and Philippe Coutinho are doubts.

Fulham
Aleksandar Mitrovic continues an eight-match suspension and Layvin Kurzawa remains unavailable.

Aston Villa v Fulham predictions

Striker Ollie Watkins has led Aston Villa's charge up the Premier League standings and he looks a value bet to open the scoring against Fulham at Villa Park.

Several Villa players have responded positively to the arrival of Unai Emery, who has done a fantastic job in six months at the helm, but none has had a greater impact than Watkins, who has delivered 14 league goals and six assists.

Watkins has netted 11 times in his last 13 appearances and must be giving some food for thought to Gareth Southgate, who left him out of the England squad for last month's Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The 27-year-old will be highly motivated to keep up his high standards and can cause problems for Fulham, who have gone seven matches since their last clean sheet.

Fulham's season appeared to be petering out after a run of five successive losses, including the infamous 3-1 FA Cup reverse at Manchester United, in the run up to Easter.

However, Marco Silva's side have responded with wins away to Everton and at home to Leeds, keeping them on course for what would be a commendable top-half finish.

The Cottagers are finding ways to score goals without their talismanic target man Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is in the middle of an eight-game suspension.

But Fulham's defensive record of 42 goals conceded is the second worst among the top nine and they may struggle to keep tabs on Watkins, who needs one more goal to register the highest Premier League tally of his career.

Key stat

Ollie Watkins has scored 11 goals in his last 13 league appearances

Probable teams

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Luiz, Dendoncker; McGinn, Buendia, Ramsey; Watkins.
Subs: Olsen, Chambers, Duran, Carlos, Sinisalo, Digne, Revan, Traore, Patterson.

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Tosin, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Wilson, Pereira, William; De-Cordova-Reid.
Subs: Rodak, Lukic, Solomon, Cairney, Vinicius, Duffy, Diop, Kebano, Soares, James.