Aston Villa predicted XI vs. Fulham: three major changes made amid worsening injury crisis

Aston Villa will be hoping to get their Champions League qualification bid back on track this weekend when they travel to face Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Villans have won just one of their past four Premier League outings, and have dropped to fifth in the table as a consequence.

Last time out, Unai Emery's men put in an admirable display against Manchester United, but were undone by a late Scott McTominay strike, and ultimately lost 2-1 on home soil. A win this weekend could, however, lift them back into the top four if Tottenham Hotspur drop points in their clash with Wolves.

For their part, Fulham are ticking along quite nicely in mid-table, and are unbeaten in their last three matches. A 3-1 victory over an out-of-sorts Bournemouth left them 12th in the table, with 29 points to their name.

But how will both sides line up in West London this weekend? We've taken a look at their respective team news and predicted starting XIs below...

Aston Villa Team News

Aston Villa have been struck by something of a mini injury crisis in recent weeks, and are beginning to look decidedly threadbare at the heart of defence in particular. Diego Carlos is the latest player to be sidelined having suffered a hamstring injury this week, although at the present moment in time it is not wholly clear as to exactly how long the Brazilian will be out of action.

The 30-year-old joins Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa on the treatment table, with the former having sustained an ACL injury earlier in the season, and the latter having sprained his knee in the 5-0 demolition of Sheffield United. Speaking about Konsa after his setback, Emery said: 'Ezri is injured. He has a knee sprain and is not going to be available. I don't know, three or four weeks more or less.'

Elsewhere, Boubacar Kamara's campaign is over after he ruptured his ACL, with the midfielder likely to be out until the latter part of the year. Emi Buendia is still recovering from a similar injury, and may not feature at all this term.

Villa's only other injury concern is striker Jhon Duran, who picked up a complaint during the 0-0 stalemate with Everton last month. Speaking about the South American shortly afterwards, Emery said: 'Jhon is now injured, but I am happy with him. [In] the last action against Everton, he was injured. For the next weeks, he is not going to be available.'

Aston Villa Predicted XI

Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Pau Torres, Clement Lenglet, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Douglas Luiz; Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby, Jacob Ramsey; Ollie Watkins.

Fulham Team News

By comparison, Fulham have relatively few injuries to worry about at the time of writing. Raul Jimenez is expected to be out for a month or so with a thigh problem, while Kenny Tete is also sidelined with a slight calf issue.

Other than that, the Cottagers may be in a position to welcome Tosin Adarabioyo back to their match day squad, while Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi could both feature having returned from a run to the final of the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Fulham Predicted XI

Bernd Leno; Timothy Castagne, Tosin Adarabioyo, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson; Joao Palhinha, Tom Cairney; Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Andreas Pereira, Willian; Rodrigo Muniz.