Fulham today, the good old days and match facts from the BBC

In the good old days, the League table wasn't published until six games in, because it was sensible. Granted, you could always find it and this wasn't a rule or law, it's just how it happened. It was a sensible approach.

And today, we play our sixth game and if we win, we'll have the same points as Newcastle, one more than Nottingham Forest and I'm having fun getting this last one in, one less than Manchester United.

Newcastle and Forest had good seasons last time out and I'm not looking for excuses, I'm trying to put things into perspective. It's only six games. There is plenty of time left and it's not how you start the season that counts.

And I'll take a little from the Bologna match in the week to suggest we've got enough in the squad to get through this little patch. And talking about squad, I want to see Harvey Elliott play more. Again, in the good old days, you would bring a player in and give him 10 games, that's how they get up to speed.

But I know it's not the good old days and football is different, but one thing that hasn't changed, is as supporters we need patience. Some of the most patient supporters I've ever known are those of Crystal Palace and they find themselves second in the table.

All the above is written to say that I trust Unai Emery and I trust the decisions the owners are making. As for today, I've got to pull over to watch that match as I'm on dad duty driving people everywhere. I'll find a petrol station to watch, but I've got a good feeling today.

Match facts from the BBC

• Aston Villa have won seven of their last eight Premier League meetings with Fulham, including their last five in a row since a 3-0 defeat in October 2022. The Villans last won six successive league meetings against any side when doing so versus rivals Birmingham City from October 2005 to April 2010.

• Fulham have won just one of their last 21 away league games at Aston Villa (D7 L13), losing their last six in a row since a 2-1 win in April 2014.

• Aston Villa have failed to score in each of their last two home Premier League matches, last going three without a goal at Villa Park in January 2015. Villa last failed to score in their first three home league games in a season in 1969-70 in the second tier, while in the top-flight they last did so in 1946-47.

• Fulham have won their last two Premier League matches, beating Leeds and Brentford. The Cottagers are looking for three consecutive wins for the first time since December and January in the 2022-23 season, with this their ninth run of back-to-back wins since then.

• Aston Villa scored their first Premier League goal of the season last time out, but still drew 1-1 with Sunderland and have won none of their five games in 2025-26 (D3 L2). It’s the fourth time they’ve won none of their opening five league games, after 1919-20 (first seven), 1964-65 (seven) and 1969-70 (nine).

• Marco Silva has lost six of his seven Premier League matches against Aston Villa (L1 with Everton, W1 L5 with Fulham). This is the highest loss percentage (86%) of any manager to face Villa five or more times in the competition.

• Aston Villa are averaging just 2.4 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, a drop from 4.5 per game in 2024-25. It’s their lowest average in a season on record since 1997-98.

• Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has failed to score in his last seven Premier League appearances, his longest run without scoring since going eight games between April and August 2024. His per 90 minute data for shots (1.6), shots on target (0.4) and xG (0.22) are all his lowest in a single top-flight season.

• Since the start of last season, only three Premier League players have made more line-breaking passes behind the defensive line than Fulham’s Alex Iwobi (61). This season, only Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch (4) has created more chances from a line-breaking pass than Iwobi (3).

• Rodrigo Muniz is averaging a goal or assist every 136 minutes in the Premier League for Fulham (18 goals, 3 assists in 2,866 minutes). Among players to play 1,000+ minutes for them, only Erik Nevland (every 123 mins) has done so at a more frequent rate than Muniz.