Aston Villa predicted line-up vs Fulham: nine changes made amid Emery's big Goretzka decision

Aston Villa’s fine run of form came to a grinding halt in midweek, as Unai Emery’s heavily rotated side were soundly beaten 3-0 by Brentford in the Carabao Cup. The result saw the Villans miss out on the opportunity to make the quarter-finals of the competition, and ended their seven-match unbeaten run across all competitions.

Next up, Villa will look to bounce back in the Premier League, when they take on Fulham at Villa Park in the Saturday evening late kick-off. As things stand, the West Midlands side are ninth in the Premier League table with eleven points, but are just four points off the top four with the division densely packed as we approach the end of the season’s first quarter.

As Saturday night’s clash approaches, Villa have relatively few injury concerns to trouble them. Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks set to be out until the tail-end of November, as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury. Fellow full-back Matteo Ruggeri is also out with a thigh injury, potentially until early December, while Amadou Onana will miss most of the season with a serious knee injury. Other than that, it’s a clean bill of health for Villa.

As Emery prepares his charges for their latest top tier fixture, this is the most like Aston Villa starting XI he will pick to take on Fulham - a side who haven’t managed to win at Villa Park since their Championship play-offs second leg clash back in 2018.

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Fuham: goalkeeper and defence

As tends to be the norm with Premier League sides these days, Villa opted to field their ‘cup goalkeeper’ - Marco Bizot - for their midweek Carabao Cup exploits. Saturday night will see the return of Zion Suzuki between the sticks, as he continues his highly encouraging start at Villa. He joined for £30m last summer, as his predecessor Emi Martinez went to Chelsea to replace the struggling Robert Sanchez.

At right-back, Lamine Bogarde is set to make way for Matty Cash, who put in a highly impressive display in last weekend’s big 2-1 win over Manchester City. There’s set to be changes from midweek in the central defence area too, with Pau Torres poised to come in to replace the veteran Tyrone Mings on the left side of a defensive partnership.

Torres will likely be paired with Victor Lindelof, who has recovered impressively from a sluggish start to the season to find a much improved run in form. The Sweden international has proved to be a worthwhile acquisition as a free agent who joined back in 2025, gaining regular minutes across all competitions for Emery’s side.

On the left flank, Ian Maatsen played the full ninety minutes against Fulham in midweek, but with Wan-Bissaka and Rugieri both out, he’s likely to start again when the Cottagers come to town. Maatsen’s return to the side has been welcome, after he was sidelined for over a month after suffering an ankle injury back in September.

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Fuham: midfield and attack

Moving into the heart of midfield, Boubacar Kamara will return to the side after remaining on the bench for the midweek trip to west London. The 26-year-old could be paired with summer signing Leon Goretzka, after Joao Gomes played back-to-back full matches for Emery between the City and Brentford games.

Young Brazilian talent Alysson looks set to return to the right side of an attacking midfield three, with club captain John McGinn switched over to the left flank. Between them, Swiss sensation Johan Mazambi will look to continue the blistering start to his Villa career, and replicate the form that’s seen him score three goals in his last five Premier League appearances.

Another summer signing to hit the ground running is £48m star striker Nicolas Jackson, who has come out all guns blazing for his new club, netting seven goals in ten matches for Villa. He’ll lead the line against Fulham on Saturday, with Brian Madjo and Tammy Abraham likely to be seated on the bench at kick-off.

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Fulham: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Goretzka, Kamara; Alysson, Manzambi, McGinn; Jackson.

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