Chris Sutton and Paul Merson agree on Fulham vs Aston Villa prediction

Aston Villa return to action on Thursday night when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage. Villa have picked up form of late, losing just one of their last five games, but they haven’t been able to create a habit of winning so far this term.

Gerrard’s men are just a point above the bottom three having only won two of their first 10 games this season. Injuries have not helped, but Villa will be expected to improve significantly given the level of investment in the squad.

On Thursday night, Villa head to the capital to take on a Fulham side that has enjoyed a solid start, already with three more points than Villa despite this being their first season back in the top flight.

These are the types of games Villa need to be picking up wins from if they want to avoid getting sucked into a relegation battle this season. But how do pundits believe Villa will get on in London based on their current form?

BBC pundit Chris Sutton, is going for a 1-1 draw, saying: “The pressure is growing on Villa boss Steven Gerrard and I am not sure the fans are with him anymore. I had an eye on Fulham against Bournemouth at the weekend and the Cottagers are a dangerous team. I am going to sit on the fence here, and go with a draw.”

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson agreed in his SportsKeeda predictions, reasoning: “There’s not much to separate these two teams, and I’m going to go with a draw here.”

And for the full house, the BBC’s Mark Lawrenson is also going for a 1-1 draw, adding: “Villa create very little and I think Steven Gerrard needs to find a way of playing his two frontmen and letting them go and cause havoc. Fulham are playing well and Aleksandar Mitrovic is such a handful.”