Aston Villa vs Fulham LIVE match updates and team news from Premier League clash

Aston Villa drew to Fulham(Image: Nigel French/Press Association)

Here are John Townley's player ratings

Aston Villa fail to claim successive home league wins after drawing 1-1 with Fulham at Villa Park.Nicolas Jackson bagged his fifth goal in as many games, but Zion Suzuki, after making a couple of top saves, dropped a clanger to gift Fulham an equaliser.

Matty Cash will now miss Aston Villa's trip to Manchester United after collecting his fifth booking of the season tonight.

Buendia, Mbaye and Gomes have all come on for Alysson, Manzambi and Goretzka.

Zion Suzuki drops the ball over the line from Alex Iwobi's corner. Bad mistake.

Villa have started slowly in this half. Fulham much better.

Only now have Villa started to put passes together to stop the away side's pressure.

We're back underway at Villa Park...

Both teams remain the same - no changes for the start of the second period.

Villa lead at the break thanks to Jackson's fifth league goal of the season. He took it so well. McGinn missed a penalty earlier in the half, slamming the bar. Suzuki made an excellent stop to prevent Bobb from putting Fulham ahead.

JACKSSSSON! Unreal footwork from the striker before finishing past Bernd Leno. Played in by Johan Manzambi.

Fulham lead a counter-attack after Villa’s free-kick routine broke down. It ends in a chance for Bobb, but Suzuki pulls off a top save to tip the ball over the bar. Looked like he was beaten.

Fulham defender Affengruber has been booked for fouling Jackson outside the box.

John McGinn smacks the bar. Massive chance to open the scoring wasted.

Villa have been awarded a penalty after Leon Goretzka's header hit Sander Berge's hand.

Fulham and Villa have both had openings early on. Iwobi was picked out by Garcia in the box, but he blazed his effort over.

Cash was picked out by Suzuki down the right, before he played it to Alysson. The Brazilian claimed for a penalty, but nothing was given. Goretzka headed over from a corner just after.

We're underway at Villa Park...

I will bring you updates and goal alerts through the night as Villa target successive home league wins.

Here come both sets of players ahead of kick-off.

A period of silence will be observed before we get underway at 8pm.

Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa(Image: Getty Images)

“They are playing really well. They are competing fantastic (in) the last matches, even losing against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. In the league, they are really fantastic.

“Of course, (Álvaro) Arbeloa, he has experience in England. He played here, he has experience in football for a long time. He had very good coaches.

“Now, how they are playing, is really like a coach with experience and a coach managing tactically a lot of things.”

"They are a team that are very compact. They defend so well and even with the ball they know what they have to do. They have top players, and when you have a top coach with top players, normally you have a top team."

Unai Emery returned to Sevilla on Friday(Image: 2025 Getty Images)

“The only focus is tomorrow, the match tomorrow. But, of course, how we are doing our way at the beginning of the season, even in the pre-season, everything has a plan, and the plan is try to play focusing each match, each competition, with the players (who) are ready and available to play, with the objective to have as well, some players (who) need confidence, time, adapting us, time to get fit, time after some injuries.

“So, how we are building the team is a process, and the process is going, but each match is the objective. If I am thinking, if we are thinking, after the match tomorrow against Fulham, we are making a mistake, and we are wrong, completely wrong.

“So, tomorrow, Fulham, prioritising Premier League clearly, and this is the message, because to keep our consistency, to keep our demands and work every day to get these demands to keep, to get this commitment to keep our consistency like we did the last year, each match is a test.

“In Premier League, we are (in a) lack of points. Of course, we are progressing, we are getting better, but if we want to be consistent like the last year and (in) the top positions, we must focus tomorrow (on) the match, prioritising 100% and focusing, respecting them, preparing the game, playing so, so focused and intense the match requires, and respecting them.”

Alvaro Arbeloa applauds the fans after Fulham's win over Hull City(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)

"When you see his career, his titles, the job that he did at every club, I think he is one of the best Spanish coaches in our history," the Fulham boss said in his pre-match news conference.

"I think right now he is one of the best coaches in the world. He is very, very good, he improves everything every year. It doesn't matter where he is coaching, he's doing an amazing job, and for me also it's a very good challenge to face him. I'm so happy that a Spanish coach is doing an amazing job in the Premier League.

"He knows what he wants from his players, and obviously when some new players came, it's a new process, it's like almost a new team, and he needs time. It's normal, but you can see right now how they are performing."

Aston Villa's Taylor Harwood-Bellis (left) and Bournemouth's Alvaro Rodriguez battle for the ball

“Very good. Taylor is a fantastic guy, very professional. He knows how he has to progress with us, understanding everything every day, practising, then playing matches like he’s playing – friendly matches, or two matches in Carabao Cup, Coventry and on Wednesday against Bournemouth, he played a good match.

“I like how he is focusing his progression and practising every day, because he knows now, he has to prioritise practising every day to show his progress, and he is doing it.”

Nicolas Jackson of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)

Asked if he thinks Jackson can reach the top level of strikers, Emery said: “I believe. I believe through the work, through the mentality, through everyday working, through being very consistent in his ambitious demands and how he can achieve those ambitious demands working every day.

“I think he is an intelligent guy. He is a player who is focused on football, as every player should be, and he is in this way. So we’ll see, but I’m optimistic and I believe he can do it.”

Aston Villa winger Alysson(Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)

"Joao is progressing very well and with his individual objectives as well. With us and for the national team, that is really fantastic,” Emery said.

"Alysson is on the same page, like Joao. He's young - of course, the difference with Joao is he has experience in the Premier League. But the potential they both have is really huge potential.

“If they be like [they are] now, like humble, listening, practicing their tasks, trying to understand each match, how you can improve for the next one. They are in this way. Alysson too, like Joao, as a Brazilian, to get to the national team is something very, very special.

"Every Brazilian player is defending the national team very strongly. For Joao it is fantastic, for Alysson my expectation is he will get it as well, but let's see.”

Fulham starting XI vs Aston Villa: Leno; Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Charles; Iwobi, King, Bobb; Gonzalo.

Subs: Lecomte, Tete, Andersen, Cairney, Larsson, Manuel Angel, Palacios, Kevin, Muniz.

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

Subs: Bizot, Harwood-Bellis, Mings, Barkley, Buendia, Garnacho, Mbaye, Madjo, Gomes.

Leon Goretzka of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)

“He started being available two weeks ago, and progressively playing minutes, understanding our tactical idea, adapting of us, and we are adapting as well to him, because his quality is clear.

“His capacity to help us with his experience, we’ll see it, but we believe. He played in the starting 11 on Wednesday, one step forward for him to get better, to understand us better, and being ready and better for the next matches.”

Aston Villa 19/20, Draw 27/10, Fulham 11/4

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Good evening and welcome to BirminghamLive's coverage of Aston Villa’s Premier League clash against Fulham at Villa Park.

Unai Emery’s side are targeting their third consecutive league win tonight. They haven’t managed that at any point this calendar year.

They beat Man City here last weekend but were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Bournemouth on the south coast in midweek.

Opponents Fulham also lost in the cup on Wednesday night, going down 1-0 to Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage.

I’ll bring you team news at 6.45pm ahead of kick-off at 8pm.