Key events
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, 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
