Fulham tomorrow and the Twilight Zone

There was always going to come a time when we didn't win but the performance when didn't was going to tell us a lot. That I wrote that sentence is still quite a Twilight Zone moment.

The draw at Brentford was impressive, not because we got a draw at Brentford but because we had an off day against a side that have only lost twice at home this season and we fought back to get a point.

And did you know that no other manager has seen his team score in so many games since taking over as our new manager. Again, welcome to the Twilight Zone.

That written, it's Fulham tomorrow night and if we win, we go fifth and as was pointed out by Mint yesterday, it's not the true picture of things, but it's still a picture and now that it's a Manchester FA Cup final, it's the top seven places that are getting Europe this season and I think I'd rather the points than the games in hand.

But six finals coming and it starts with Fulham tomorrow. What a time to be an Aston Villa fan.

Match facts from the BBC

Head-to-head

• Aston Villa's solitary defeat in their past 18 league games at home to Fulham came on 5 April 2014 (W10, D7).
• Fulham won this season's reverse fixture 3-0, with Steven Gerrard subsequently sacked as Aston Villa head coach on the same night.
• The Cottagers can beat Villa home and away in a top-flight season for only the third time, having done so in 1962-63 and 2013-14.

Aston Villa

• Aston Villa are unbeaten in nine league games, taking 23 points out of a possible 27 and keeping six clean sheets.
• It's the club's longest Premier League sequence without defeat since a run of 10 from May to October 2011.
• They could win five consecutive top-flight matches at Villa Park for the first time since May to September 1998, while they last did so without conceding between March-April 1983.
• The Villans have scored in all 19 Premier League fixtures under Unai Emery, the longest streak from the start of a manager's tenure in the competition's history.
• Ollie Watkins has scored 11 times in 13 league appearances and needs one goal to become the first Villa player to reach 15 in a top-flight season since Christian Benteke a decade ago.

Fulham

• Fulham are vying for an outright club record seventh top-flight away victory in a season. Their current tally of six was also achieved in 1960-61 and 1962-63.
• They need one win to equal the club record of 14 in a Premier League season, set four times.
• The Cottagers have earned successive league victories, directly following a five-match losing streak in all competitions.
• Fulham are one of only two sides with a 100% winning record in midweek Premier League fixtures this season. They have four victories, one fewer than Manchester City.
• Harry Wilson has scored in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since his first two appearances in the division in August 2019.