Aston Villa, a team currently on the brink of relegation with six matches to go, will play hosts to rivals Fulham FC. This match comes up on the wake of their 3- 1 thrashing of Stoke last week. A win for Villa, and a little bit of luck from the outcome of the other fixtures, will go on to ease the tension in Paul Lambert’s camp. However, Villa fans are expecting to see another display of form and desire and they would be pleased to see their team take their chances.
Villa’s chances against Fulham are pretty solid, compared to their challenges. Two of those fixtures against Manchester United and Chelsea, then they play Wigan in the last match of the season. The other three are Sunderland, Norwich, and the game on Saturday against Fulham. Aston Villa currently occupies the 16th place on the log with 33 points, two points above the bottom three.
Fulham, after their impressive form of the season sits on the 10th position on the log, with 39 points. That is a safer position compared to the tension in Paul Lambert’s camp at present. Meanwhile, Fulham manager Martin Jol will be willing to play the role of a spoiler, for the sake of sealing an impressive season on a high.
As for the other relegation threatened teams: Reading and QPR will host Liverpool and Everton respectively. Sunderland, two points below Villa, will be at Newcastle for what will be a hard- fought derby against neighbours presently in the relegation mix. Stoke, a point above Villa, host league leaders Manchester United, while Norwich, two points above Aston Villa, are away to Arsenal. Wigan will not be on action this weekend due to their FA Cup Semi final clash with Millwal. All these leaves Villa with everything to lose ifthe other fixtures end up with the wrong combinations of result.
With Steve Sidwell suspended and Askhan Dejagh injured, Martin Jol will have to rediscover a midfield combination proper for this tie. While Urby Emmanuelson and Emmanuel Frimpong still struggle to find form after their January transfer moves, Fulham will likely be without a solid midfield. The presence of Dimitar Berbatov and Bryan Ruiz promise to be problematic for Villa’s defense. Phillipe Senderos and Brede Hangeland will have to be at their best to deal with Aston Villa’s front men: Gabby Agbonlahor, Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann.
