Fulham at Villa Park can only mean one thing.
After the glamour of a European night it’s back to the league and the downside of playing in the Europa, namely a Sunday match. At least it’s at home and at a civilised hour.
We’re also playing a team we’ve got a good record against, and it’s time for the twice-yearly reminder that when they beat us it’s usually for the greater good. Fulham. Even if they weren’t indirectly responsible for bringing us our owners and manager, if they had Karren Brady in charge and Robbie Savage as manager, you still couldn’t hate Fulham.
It’s impossible to have strong feelings one way or the other about them. We’ve even got a song that includes the immortal words “Alex Stock’s Fulham.” If you’ve got no idea what that means, ask your dad and he’ll tell you once he’s stopped laughing.
They’ve got the same manager they had last season and he’s been there a long time now, but not as long as Stuart Gray, who’s due to have a stand named after him. Speaking of which, have they finally got that new one built? Their players are a typically nondescript lot, although they have managed to keep hold of the highly-promising teenage twentysomething prodigy Adamah Traore.
Also in their squad is Sasa Lukic, whose name comes worryingly close to inducing flashbacks, and Ryan Sessegnon, who’s been around forever and he’s still only 25. Spurs paid £25 million then let him go for free five years later, which sounds familiar.
The Aston Galacticos will have, please God, the world’s number one back and you can also pray to the deity of your choice that there’s a couple more changes to the team that starts the match. This is another one of those games where you’d take a last-minute deflection for a winner but it would be a lot better if Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers got a hat-trick each.
