Saturday Fulham Stuff (05.11.10)

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http://www.sportingpreview.com/matches/10110881.php?

FULHAM v ASTON VILLA
LATEST TEAM NEWS

Aston Villa's have a huge striker crisis as John Carew has been ruled out for three to four weeks with a torn calf suffered on Thursday in training.

Villa do not have a senior forward available for this afternoon's trip to Fulham.

Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor are already ruled out with injuries so Nathan Delfouneso will lead the attack at Craven Cottage.

Marc Albrighton is available after he served a one-match ban against Birmingham for his sending-off against Burnley in the Carling Cup.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell has recovered from a stomach bug and full-back Habib Beye is also in contention after recovering from an ankle problem.

Damien Duff and Dickson Etuhu are both back for Fulham.

Duff and Etuhu have recovered from their respective calf and ankle injuries.

Andy Johnson is set to continue making his comeback from the bench.

Fulham Squad: Schwarzer, Stockdale, Kelly, Pantsil, Salcido, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Duff, Etuhu, Davies, Halliche, Gera, Riise, E Johnson, A Johnson, Greening, Dikgacoi, Kamara, Dembele.

Aston Villa Squad: Friedel, Luke Young, Beye, Collins, Dunne, Cuellar, Clark, Warnock, Albrighton, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Ireland, Downing, Ashley Young, Delfouneso, Bannan, Lichaj.

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http://www.avillafan.com/fulham-vs-aston-villa-preview/?

Fulham Vs Aston Villa Preview

Match preview of Fulham hosting Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.

Aston Villa have lost both strikers John Carew and Emile Heskey to injury, which leaves youngster Nathan Delfouneso as Villa's only fit striker. Marc Albrighton is avaible after his one-match band, while Steve Sidwell and Habib Beye have all recovered from illness and injury.

Fulham have no fresh injuries and will have Damien Duff & Dickson Etuhu return after there calf and ankle injuries.

Fulham are looking to register a first back-to-back victories since February against a weekend Villa side. Despite Houllier's promising start, his methods are yet to stick to the Villa team as they are without a victory since a 2-1 win against Wolves back in September.

Villa also have a goal problem, Villa have not scored in now 344 minutes (5 hours roughly). Houlliers concerns have no added with Heskey out injured along with Carew and Agbonlahor unavailable.

Fulham's win over Wigan have moved Fulham up to 8th in the table and seek for the first back-to-back wins.

Fulham have only scored 18 goals against Villa, whilst Agbonlahor has scored three goals in two Premier League games against Fulham last season. Although, Agbonlahor is unavailable.

Fulham have only win four of their last 21 Premier League fixtures. While Villla have managed just nine goals so far this season. No team has scored fewer goals then Villa in the second half (2). Villa have lost 5 of their 6 away matches.

Fulham's to scorer is Dempsey on 4 goals while Villa's is Downing of 3 goals.

Referee: Peter Walton Venue: Craven Cottage Date: Saturday, 6 November Kick-Off: 15:00

Likely Line-up: Friedel, L. Young, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Clark, Downing, A. Young, Nathan Delfouneso.

Predictions: Mark Lawrenson of BBC predicts a 2-1 win for Fulham. I don't know what to predict but Im looking at a 0-1 win to Villa.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-flop-Stephen-Ireland-needs-to-start-stepping-up-his-game-according-to-boss-Gerard-Houllier-article622505.html

Houllier demands more from summer flop Ireland

Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier is backing Marc Albrighton to take out his derby frustration on Fulham.

Villa's England Under-21 winger was banned from the clash with Birmingham after his sending-off against Burnley in the Carling Cup.

But Albrighton returns today and has been rewarded with a new four-year contract until 2014 for his impressive form this season.

Houllier said: "He was devastated after the Burnley game. He's stepped up very well this season.

"He has the talent, the attitude and the commitment.

"He played for the reserves on Monday and Kevin McDonald their manager told me his work-rate was fantastic."

Villa's only summer signing, Stephen Ireland, could be on the bench again. Houllier said: "At some stage, he has to produce more. I think he can do it, it's up to him but he has to show more commitment. You win things only with people who put the effort in for the team."

Villa have England Under-19 striker Nathan Delfouneso leading the attack at Craven Cottage as John Carew (calf), Emile Heskey (knee) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (groin) are crocked.

Carew, Heskey and Stiliyan Petrov have all been injured in training but Houllier denies his new intense fitness regime is to blame.

He said: "It was probably something Emile had been carrying for a long time and Gabby was injured when I came here, so you can't say the new regime injured him."

Mark Hughes is confident he is winning the battle to keep his goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer out of the clutches of Arsenal during the transfer window.

"Hopefully we'll soon have some good news about Mark's future," he said.



Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-flop-Stephen-Ireland-needs-to-start-stepping-up-his-game-according-to-boss-Gerard-Houllier-article622505.html#ixzz14UTEdcix
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http://www.fulhamweb.co.uk/news/Dempsey-determined-to-keep-scoring.aspx

DEMPSEY DETERMINED TO KEEP SCORING

Clint Dempsey is determined to build on his double against Wigan when he leads Fulham's attack again against Aston Villa tomorrow.

With Bobby Zamora sidelined by a knee problem and Andy Johnson only just coming back from his serious knee injury, the pressure has been on Dempsey up front.

The striker responded to the challenge last Saturday with both goals as Fulham claimed their first win in seven.

He said: "Bobby has definitely been missed as he was on top form so everyone has been trying to chip in as much as we can.

"Any time you can score it helps your confidence and that was the case for me against Wigan last week. We were down towards the bottom before the game and didn't feel we deserved to be there. Now we can look up the table again."

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http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/2010/11/premiership/escapinis-premiership-predictor

ESCAPINI'S PREMIERSHIP PREDICTOR

Fulham v Aston Villa

For me, neither team have players that are capable of setting this game alight, let alone the Premiership. Houllier has done nothing inspirational since his arrival, Hughes needs to up his game too, by the way. This looks almost as dull as the Blackburn/Wigan gig.

Prediction 0-0

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http://hammyend.com/index.php/2010/11/up-next-aston-villa-h-2/?

Up next: Aston Villa (h)
by DAN on NOVEMBER 6, 2010

Consistency is something that has eluded Fulham under most of their managers since their return to the top flight. In recent years, the side has proved itself a match for most on their day, but failed to put together the sequence of results that justified Mark Hughes' insistence he could convert the promise into a top-ten finish. As if to illustrate that point, Fulham have not recorded two straight league wins since last February, even if their European adventure that took all the way to Hamburg last year was as memorable as anything that has gone before.

At the early stage of the season, it was perhaps too early to label last weekend's home game against Wigan as a 'must win' fixture. A comfortable victory, ably provided by two goals from the in-form Clint Dempsey, catapulted Hughes' side eight places up the table and eased the pressure after a few worrying weeks. The visit of an off-colour and injury-afflicted Aston Villa, still trying to put the methods of new manager Gerard Houllier into practice, provides a perfect opportunity to pick up another three points, especially as Villa are likely to have John Carew, still shaking off his own injury problems, as their only fit striker for this afternoon's fixture.

Villa's start to the season was badly disrupted by the surprise departure of Martin O'Neill and then the uncertainty over who would succeed him at Villa Park. Kevin Macdonald's tenure showed just how much young talent Villa had at their disposal, but Houllier brings the kind of technical and tactical expertise – as well as the experience of high-level European football – that the likeable Macdonald just didn't have. The former Liverpool manager has seen his new side produce moments of real quality, but Villa have yet to build on the 2-1 defeat of Wolves in Houllier's first game in September and his post-match irritation over Stephen Ireland's form last week suggested that the Frenchman had been struggling to reshape the side as he would have liked.

Villa have a great league record against Fulham, but will be without the kind of forward power that would strike fear into a host of Premier League defences. Emile Heskey suffered medial ligament damage in training on Wednesday, leaving the former England international likely to be on the sidelines for the best part of a month as he recovers from surgery. Heskey's absence will concern Houllier especially as Villa are struggling for goals at the moment. They have only scored nine goals in ten matches this term and are on a 344-minute league goal drought. Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has been out for five weeks with a groin injury, has returned to training but is not fit enough to be considered for selection at Craven Cottage this afternoon.

The slenderness of Villa's squad means that Carew, himself still troubled by a persistent back complaint, might be forced to play as a lone striker unless 19-year-old Nathan Delfouneso is included or Houllier pushes Ashley Young further forward, as he did in the League Cup last week. The visitors will already be without skipper Stilian Petrov, whose knee problem will keep him out until the new year, whilst Steve Sidwell is still suffering from a flu virus and is considered doubtful. Talented winger Marc Albrighton is available again after a one-match suspension.

By comparison, Hughes' selection problems are relatively more straightforward. Damien Duff, who has struggled for both fitness and form this season, is back in the squad alongside Dickson Etuhu, who has been out for three weeks with an ankle injury. Hughes will ponder whether to bring the Nigerian international straight back into the starting line-up or stick with Jonathan Greening and Danny Murphy in central midfield after the pair played well together in the 2-0 win over Wigan last Saturday. Duff will have to compete with Zoltan Gera, outstanding last weekend, for a wide midfield berth.

MY FULHAM XI (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Baird, Salcido, Hughes, Hangeland; Etuhu, Murphy, Davies, Gera; Dempsey, Dembele. Subs: Stockdale, Kelly, Pantsil, Greening, Riise, A. Johnson, Kamara.

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http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_6489580,00.html?

Hughes hopeful on Schwarzer
Keeper in contract talks

Fulham boss Mark Hughes is confident Mark Schwarzer will pledge his future to the club and sign a new deal at Craven Cottage.

Schwarzer's future has been the subject of speculation for some time with the Australian unhappy with the club after they blocked a possible move to Arsenal in the summmer.

The former Middlesbrough keeper's contract expires at the end of the season and he has been tipped to leave on a free transfer.

However, Hughes believes Schwarzer is coming round to the idea of signing a new contract to stay at Fulham.
"We've been talking with Mark in recent weeks and, hopefully, we'll soon have some good news about his future," said Hughes.

"We are confident he is going to be our keeper."

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http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7506321

Villa Boss Confident Ahead Of Fulham Clash

Gerard Houllier is after three points at Fulham this weekend to pull us away from the bottom half of the table.

The Villa boss also says that the points picked up haven`t reflected how well the team has been playing, which is truth is a fair point, we have missed so many good chances it is untrue.

He said: 'You win two games and you're practically fifth or sixth. It still is a bit of a worry though. I don't like the position we are in. I feel a bit gutted by it because I think in some games we should have taken some points - I am thinking Tottenham and Sunderland. It's not as if there was nothing there. I don't think we've got the points we've deserved."

He also mentions the mounting injuries - as discussed in the forum: Heskey out for a month, Now Carew Is Out and Injuries

He added: 'I am confident. I think we've got a good squad, a good team. We have to deal with these things on a daily basis. I am not down. It happens. I am not devastated. In fact, I am confident.'

Meanwhile Barry Bannan has told AVTV that they need to sort their away form out and we will then climb the table.

'Hopefully starting at Fulham, we can get three points and begin from there. There is no doubt about it, they are a good team though. They are going to cause us problems but I think we have got enough to go there and get a good result. We need to start getting a few wins on the road so hopefully Fulham can be a place where we kick-start it.'


Read more: http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7506321#ixzz14VH39kUU

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http://www.thevillablog.co.uk/aston-villa-blog/avfc-news/aston-villa-at-fulham-live-banter-team-news-fighting-talk-and-links/?/

Aston Villa at Fulham: Live banter, team news, fighting talk and links

Gerard Houllier is targeting three points today and that is official. I don't know what is more worrying though; the thought that he doesn't always target three points or the fact that the club website is actually promoting this.

Moving that to one side, John Carew has come out fighting today also - properly laying into the manager suggesting that Houllier is insulting the supporters. I'm starting to think that there might be an issue or two behind the scenes and that is never good for a football club.

But all that has to be put to one side, because like we have been told, the manager has targeted three points today and we do have a football match.

A nice part of London

There are some really horrible parts of London that you wouldn't want to walk around in, let alone live, but Fulham and the surrounding area is lovely. Not sure of the relevance in that, but if you're going today, there are some very nice pubs not so far away too, so have fun.

Now, it might be a nice part of London and a nice old stadium but we need three points today and for that to happen, things have to start falling into place and I think if it all does, The Fonz will have a good game.

Marc Albrighton

Some news; Marc Albrighton has signed a three and a half year deal at the club. I'd have signed him up for longer personally but I don't think this contract extension had anything to do with the manager - this is the club protecting it's assets and they see this length of contract as the right one.

Fulham live

So, as soon as we get team news we will publish here and on Twitter and anything else as it comes through. Also, if you wanted to watch the game online, you can do here but I'm sure also there will be more links added below throughout the day too.

So, with nothing else, I'm off for a late breakfast; bacon, baked beans, egg and toast is in order today.