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Time to open the post. “Tommy Too Cool is in the stands watching on in some fancy looking sunglasses,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Either his future’s so bright he has to wear shades, or else he’s practicing for a life of forced anonymity after this summer’s World Cup.”
“Hi Tim,” says Paul in Brazil, picking up on my aside about blocking. “You sound like you could be the man for this book, could also be an audio sleep aid.” Nice backhand! “Wondering what new rules FIFA/Fafa will have in the World Cup. Just to make it more exciting...”
HALF-TIME! Fulham 1-0 Villa
Craven Cottage erupted when the goal went in, and although Villa look ready to bounce back, there’s only a minute of added time. So Fulham lead at the break, and it’s not often you can say that. They deserve it, for their enterprise, pressing and new-found accuracy: they’ve had five shots on target to Villa’s one. Villa were only really themselves for three minutes, when Rogers and Watkins both came close. But they’re good at scoring late on and Unai Emery will be telling them can still win this.
44 min It was a fine, flowing move that was all about the full-backs. Castagne advanced into the inside-right zone, ignored the man outside him and sent in an excellent cross. The header from Lukic was sharp enough for Martinez to parry rather than gather it in. The ball fell kindly to Sessegnon, near the penalty spot, and he drove it into the corner.
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Villa (Sessegnon 42)
They’ve done it! They’ve scored in the first half!
41 min Fulham shine on both wings in the same move. Jimenez races down the right and hooks a cross over his shoulder. There’s nobody in the box, so it reaches Smith Rowe on the left. He sends a lovely little through ball to someone whose cross is, guess what, blocked.
39 min Wilson’s free kick is blocked, but Fulham come again and Sessegnon, in behind, volleys a cross … that can’t quite reach Jimenez.
37 min Fulham, fired up, storm into the D, where Wilson is fouled. McGinn, willing as ever, plays the draft excluder – that’s proper captaincy.
35 min Closer still! Watkins, in the inside-right channel, gets on the ball this time and does so well to shake off Andersen. He carves out just enough space to deliver a shot that goes right across the face and just past the far post.
34 min Close! Suddenly Rogers and Watkins have a two-on-two. Rogers ignores his mate for once, does the slalom and hits a powerful shot – just wide.
32 min Again Fulham flatter to deceive. A cross from Lukic, a lay-off from Jimenez, but the shot from Berge is easily blocked.
30 min A third of the game has slipped past. Fulham have 15 minutes to score in the first half, something they have managed in only two of their last 16 games. They’ve been the better team here, with nothing to show for it.
28 min Fulham are getting forward with ease. Sessegnon sends in a looping cross that’s not precise enough. Then he has two more crosses, both blocked. There is a book to be written on the art of the block, which seems to loom larger and larger. Though the book might be on the dull side.
25 min Another shot on target for Fulham to add to their collection. It’s ambitious from Chukwueze, who spins to shoot from 15 yards and can’t find the power to trouble Martinez.
24 min A promising move from Villa – down the left, round the houses, a cross from the right. It’s blocked, they win a corner, Leno comes off his line and can’t hold on, but nothing comes of it.
22 min Jimenez wins a duel and sends a sizzling diagonal ball through towards Wilson, but the ref, Michael Oliver, feels the duel was won by less than fair means.
20 min Fulham have been pressing hard and now Smith Rowe wins the ball near the left-hand corner flag. He makes a neat turn to advance into the area, only to see the flag go up.
19 min Buendia has an opening to send Watkins away, but his pass is scruffy.
18 min Villa’s turn to have some possession, which draws a fioul from Andersen. The free kick is 35 yards out on the Villa left. As it comes in, Jimenez grapples with Cash on the right and gets away with it, rather jammily.
16 min Thomas Tuchel is in the crowd, looking pensive in a pair of shades. He has to recall Watkins, doesn’t he, if he continues to ignore Danny Welbeck?
15 min Fulham play the ball sideways as if the next stat they want to improve is their touches in the final third.
14 min Fulham may not have tested Martinez but they’ve had two shots on target, which is two more than they had in the whole 100 minutes at Brentford this time last Saturday.
10 min Proper chances at both ends! First Lukic takes a shot from the edge of the box, well struck but too close to Martinez. Then Watkins, cutting in from the left, can only follow suit.
8 min Half-chances at both ends! First Sessegnon curls in a good cross to Jimenez, whose header goes straight at Martinez, though it might have been offside anyway. Then Villa break and Buendia has a blast from distance that goes wide.
6 min Another Villa corner. Digne swings it in but Leno clasps it calmly.
5 min The free kick brings Villa a corner, taken short and then messed up as Jimenez is easily able to clear.
4 min Villa make it into Fulham’s half, where Tielemans wins a free kick 40 yards out.
3 min From the free kick, Fulham make it into the box, where Smith Rowe slips through … and plays a poor square ball that doesn’t find Jimenez.
2 min The first foul is committed by Morgan Rogers, needlessly, on Sander Berge – they were in the centre circle.
1 min Fulham kick off and play the ball around at the back. They’re in all white, so they bear a very slight resemblance to Real Madrid. Villa are in a lot of claret and a little blue.
The teams line up as a drone camera swoops across the Thames. It’s at its sparkling best in the spring sunshine.
Also today, at 5.15pm, there’s an FA Cup semi-final with giant-killing possibilities. Can Southampton knock out the mighty Man City? It may seem far-fetched, but they managed it in the League Cup only three years ago.
The first email of the day has landed, and it’s from a Fulham fan. “We almost never beat Villa and we never beat Emery,” says Richard Hirst, “so my hopes aren’t high.” That’s the spirit!
“But we’ll always have the 2018 play off final to cling to: just a shame John Terry isn’t still Villa’s centre back.”
True, but next time you face Chelsea, he may well be their manager.
So what else is happening today? Quite a lot, as the Premier League takes a Sunday off tomorrow, perhaps in an attempt to show younger fans what life was like in the Seventies.
There are three games at 3pm today. Liverpool entertain Palace, who are 13th and still not out of the race for Europe as they have a game in hand on everyone above them. Liverpool have actually won their last two league games, while crashing out of every other competition. West Ham welcome Everton for the David Moyes derby, which has “hard-fought” written all over it. And Wolves host Spurs in a game Roberto de Zerbi surely has to win if Spurs are to sneak past West Ham to safety.
Then, at 5.30, Arsenal try to remember how to win against Newcastle, who have fallen apart but still look dangerous on paper – and better-equipped than most teams to cope with Arsenal’s manhandling at corners.
Teams in full
Marco Silva, who may be wondering why his team have become so toothless, has gone for an attacking bench, with Issa Diop as the only defender bar Antonee Robinson, who loves to bomb forward. But among all the subs, Tammy Abraham still looks like the best bet for a late goal.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez.
Subs: Lecomte, Diop, Robinson, Cairney, Reed, King, Bobb, Muniz, Kusi-Asane.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bogarde, Tielemans; McGinn, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Mings, Lindelof, Maatsen, Douglas Luiz, Barkley, Sancho, Bailey, Abraham.
Teams in brief: no Onana for Villa
Unai Emery makes four changes. One looks enforced as Amadou Onana is missing altogether, presumed injured: his place at the back of midfield goes to Lamare Bogarde. Behind him, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne come in for Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen. Further forward, Emi Buendia replaces Ross Barkley.
Teams in brief: three changes for Fulham, Iwobi out
After the stalemate at Brentford this time last week, Marco Silva shuffles the pack. Sander Berge is back to join his partner in the pivot, Sasa Lukic, for the first time in ages. Raul Jimenez edges out Rodrigo Muniz as the spearhead and Samuel Chukwueze comes in on the left to replace Alex Iwobi, who has an injured hamstring.
Preamble
Morning everyone and welcome to the first Premier League game of the day. For both these clubs, it’s all about the European places.
Aston Villa, fourth in the table, are almost a shoo-in for the Champions League. They will go back up to third if they do better against Fulham today than Manchester United do against Brentford on Monday. And they have another route to the top table if they need it – winning the Europa League, something at which their manager, Unai Emery, is the world expert.
Marco Silva’s Fulham, who are 12th, are a long shot for Europe but still in a position to dream. If they win this game, they will clamber up to tenth, with perhaps only one more win needed to lift them to sixth. And, just to add sauce, a win today will leave them level on points with their chaotic neighbours, Chelsea.
But first Fulham have to remember where the goal is. They’ve drawn five blanks in their past seven games, scoring only against doomed Burnley and tottering Spurs. While Fulham have yet to break their duck for April, Villa have scored 12 times in the past 16 days. Last Sunday, in a rip-roaring fun-fest at Villa Park, they became the first team to score four against Sunderland this season (though not the last). After a slump that brought only 12 points from 12 league games, Villa have just collected seven from three – and, as a bonus, demolished Bologna.
The formbook fancies Villa, who won the reverse fixture 3-1 in September. But then Fulham win more often at home than Villa do away. They don’t have to rotate, they badly need the points, and the gods surely owe them a few goals, so it should be a good contest. Back soon with the teams.
