Key events
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, Kamara, Maatsen, Pau, Sancho, Buendia, Lindelof, Malen, Burrowes.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon,; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, King, Iwobi; Jiménez. Subs: Lecomte, Cuenca, Robinson, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Adama, Chukwueze, 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
