Key events
19 min Fulham’s attackers run the channels really well, and the balls down the line to bring them into play are hit really accurately. One finds Traore, who can’t make anything of it, but the tactic is giving them plenty of joy, and I see no reason why that won’t continue given how high Villa defend.
18 min A poor touch from Bassey, followed by a poor, panicked pass, allows McGinn to steal the ball on the edge of the box, and he’s in! But opening his body, his curler wafts wide, and that’s a really good chance spurned.
16 min McGinn delivers left-footed – why aren’t more players able to take with both feet? – and Elliott peels away to the back post, clearly a planned move, then lashes back across, so Sessegnon blocks behind. The second corner comes to nowt.
15 min We’ve barely seen Villa as an attacking force. So far, the game is going exactly as Fulham want it – though, as I type, Guessand wins a corner down the right.
14 min Castagne humps a long pass forward and Wilson, who looks not unlike Fernando Torres, is in hectares. I’m pretty sure he went early, and sure enough the flag goes up for offside once he’s taken a bum touch and poked a shot wide of the near post.
12 min I said earlier I was looking forward to seeing Josh King today, and he diddles Bogarde on the touchline by allowing the ball to run through his legs, then drives towards the box. He’s got Traore alongside but he wants his first goal, opening his body to shoot low … and too close to Martinez. So far, he’s been the best player on the pitch.
11 min Ach, Jimenez has to go off; he’s replaced by Adama Traore. I’m not yet sure if he’ll go up front, but we’ll soon see.
10 min By the looks of things, Jimenez landed awkwardly when leaping to score. Life!
8 min Jimenez is down and looks in a fair bit of pain. With Muniz injured, Fulham don’t have much to bring on in the way of direct replacement if he can’t continue.
6 min It’s giving me so much naches to see set-pieces taken so well. This really shouldn’t be a fresh or retro development in the game – I’ve no idea why they were so widely ignored for so long. And the near-post corner, perfected by Anders Limpar and Steve Bould at Arsenal, is almost undefendable when done properly – a hard, flat cross, a flick-on, and bodies charging the middle of the six-yard box to bundle in. Glorious.
5 min And it isn’t. Fulham lead, and Villa need to find some confidence from somewhere.
4 min VAR wants a look at the goal; McGinn claimed he was fouled by Berge, but it’s clear immediately that they were wrestling each other. I’d be shocked if this was ruled out.
Goal! Aston Villa 0-1 Fulham (Jiménez 3)
Lukic swings a powerful cross towards the far post and Jiménez, dashing across the face of the six-yard box, guides a beautiful cushioned header into the far side-netting. More grief for Villa.
3 min Now Fulham attack with King, who finds himself down the left side of the box, in space. He feeds Sessegnon, whose cross is blocked behind.
2 min There we go, Watkins attacks the space in behind, but Guessand takes a touch too many, so up goes the flag.
1 min I do not like this Villa Park camera angle – it’s way too high. Someone needs to trim the Trinity Road Stand.
1 min Aaaand away we go!
…and here they come!
Our players are tunnelled…
It’s really great to see Ryan Sessegnon playing regularly. He was, of course, lauded as a stellar talent when really young, but struggled to establish himself at Spurs. I’m not totally confident in his defensive work, but I’m excited to see what he can do going forward.
It’s been a poor start to the season for Morgan Rogersbut given how well he played for England – admittedly against limited opposition – I wonder if his club travails are closely related to the absence of Tielemans. I also wonder if he’d expected to leave Villa this summer – I heard from someone I trust that he was off to Chelsea – and if that unsettled him. I guess it’s also the case that teams are wiser to him now – there’s a saying I’ve not heard for a while that you get your first season for free, and maybe he needs to adjust his game a little because opposition teams will be making specific plans for him.
What are we calling Harvey Elliott’s hairdo?
I’m going for shaggy step, and also enjoy the way his headphones turn his ear into a heart-shape.
Marco Silva tells Sky that Tete and Muniz are injured but that the team are “in a very good moment” having won one cup and two league games – and they were the better side at Chelsea, even though they lost. But they’re playing a really good side who have a really good manager.
I really enjoyed Ezri Konsa’s post-Bologna interview. He seems like an extremely sound lad.
Email! “Thank you for your kind, and deserved, words about Fulham and Marco Silva,” begins Richard Hirst. “As a lover of Bob Dylan you’ve always been known as a man of great discernment, other than in your support of Man Utd. On that note, I’m interested in your views of whether Marco is the kind of manager United could do with; has a clear tactical plan but is willing to be flexible and certainly won’t be pictured staring helplessly at the turf or not watching penalties? Marco’s contract expires at the end of this season and I imagine he’ll walk if he doesn’t get Fulham into Europe, and quite possibly even if he does.”
I’m not sure: managers have different strengths, and it might be that his is what he’s doing now. I think he’s got the aggression you need to manage the biggest clubs, but I’m not certain he whether he can coach a side to dominate the ball, or whether anyone in the world can turn United into anything resembling a football team.
Les Ferdinand, in the Sky studio, has just ranked Eberechi Eze in the top five players he ever played with, even though he didn’t play with him, and there can be no higher praise than that.
Also going on:
Where is the game? The way to get at Fulham is in wide areas, especially in the absence of the excellent Antonee Robinson. Villa, though, don’t have much in the way of wingers, so will, I imagine look to their full-backs to get around the outside. Otherwise, they’ll want Ollie Watkins to dart in behind – and, when crosses come in, attack the near post, with Elliott and Morgan Rogers looking for cut-backs.
Fulham, meanwhile, will look to defend deepish, then spring into counters. I’m looking forward to seeing how Josh King gets on – he, Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi are all decent dribblers – and with his striker’s instinct, he’ll also look to get shots off and pick up second balls. I’m sure they’ll also target the space in behind Digne and Matt E. Cash, while Jiménez might play on Mings, who isn’t always the best marker.
Harvey Elliott says the midweek win was needed and lifted spirits. They’ve been fighting but “some things haven’t clicked” and they’re hoping to put on a performance in front of their own fans.
Emery recently spoke about him taking time to adapt last week; he took no offence, takes it in his stride, listens to what he’s told, and needs to put the advice into practise, not forcing things on the pitch.
The newer players want to help the team, and there are already some incredible ones in the team who haven’t find form. As long as they stick together they can “achieve many things” and he’s looking forward to showing that in the game.
As for Fulham, they make two changes: Timothy Castagne replaces Kenny Tete at right-back while, up front, Raúl Jiménez is in for Rodrigo Muniz.
So looking at his team in more detail, Emi Martínez, injured in midweek, is back in net while, at the back, Emery reverts to the back four which started against Sunderland, so Ian Maatsen and Pau Torres drop out, with Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne returning. Then, in midfield, Lamare Bogarde comes in for Boubacar Kamara, not in the squad so presumably injured, and Harvey Elliott making his first Villa start in place of Emi Buendía.
Unai Emery tells Sky that his team are happy to play in front of their supporters and are feeling strong. They need to play with energy, intensity and intelligence, showing their identity.
He’s giving Harvey Elliott a chance to show he’s adapted to his new surroundings, and he can feel comfortable in his surroundings, trying to link the play – while working hard, as every player needs to.
Otherwise, he wants Morgan Rogers to look forward and rediscover his form of last season, and thinks Marco Silva is one of the best managers around.
Teams!
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Bogarde; Guessand, Elliott, Rogers; Watkins. Subs: Bizot, House, Essense, Pau, Sanchro, Heade, Light, Burrowewal.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon,; Mountains, Lukic; Wilson, King, Iwobi; Jiménez. Subs: Leadte, Cross, Robin’s, Reed, Reed, Caurn, Smith, Smith, Adam, Chukuze, Kevin.
Referee: Andy Madley (Huddersfield)
Preamble
If all the words written and spoken about the Premier League were put next to each other, they’d stretch all the way to Uranus and back a total of 979,398,922,301 times. Yet if all the words written and spoken about Fulham were put next to each other, they’d barely stretch all the way to your, er … nose.
Frankly, it’s an absolute travesty. Marco Silva is doing a fantastic job with limited resources, guiding his side to yet another solid start to a season, and they’ll fancy themselves to put it on Villa this afternoon. Their strength is founded centrally, the centre-back pairing of Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey, protected by midfield anchors Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge, giving them power, solidity and composure. Getting through them is not and will not be easy.
Especially given Villa have just one point, having scored just once in the league this season. They did manage a dicey Europa win in midweek, which will give them a bit of confidence, but only a bit: they still looked a fair way off the side that have been so impressive – and so fun – since Unai Emery became manager. They, and he, are already under serious pressure; lose today and that will increase by several orders of magnitude.
All of which is to say this should be an intense and fascinating contest – and it’s live!
Kick-off: 2pm BST
