The numbers ahead of Saturday’s Fulham clash make remarkable reading and they almost universally favour Aston Villa.
- Emery has won all eight of his Premier League games against Fulham: a perfect record
- Villa have won their last six Premier League meetings with the Cottagers
- Fulham have failed to score in four of their last five league games
- Watkins has six goals in nine Premier League appearances against Saturday’s opponents
Emery’s perfect record. The stat that stands above all others
The most striking statistic ahead of Saturday’s 12:30 kick-off at Craven Cottage is almost impossible to believe.
Unai Emery has won all eight of his Premier League games against Fulham, a 100% record against a single opponent that only Pep Guardiola surpasses in the entire history of the competition.
The Catalan has won 12 from 12 against the Cottagers and 10 from 10 against Watford.
Emery’s Villa record against Saturday’s hosts is therefore among the most impressive managerial sequences the Premier League has ever seen.
Furthermore, Villa have won their last six Premier League meetings with Fulham consecutively, since a 3-0 reversal in October 2022.
Only against Coventry City have they won more consecutive top-flight fixtures against a single opponent, claiming seven in succession between 1995 and 1998.
Fulham’s goal drought. A crisis of clinical finishing
The Cottagers’ attacking statistics since the turn of the year are genuinely alarming. Fulham have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League matches, as many goalless games as in their previous 25 combined.
Perhaps even more damning is the conversion context: 71 shots across those five fixtures producing just three goals, a conversion rate of just 4.2%.
Marco Silva’s side have also managed just four first-half Premier League goals since the start of 2026, level with Wolves for the fewest in the division.
For a team with genuine European ambitions, that attacking paralysis at the most critical stage of the campaign represents a near-fatal vulnerability.
Villa’s away form and defensive concerns
The statistics are not entirely positive for Emery’s side, however. Villa have won just one of their last seven away Premier League games: a run that demands honest acknowledgement heading into Saturday.
Furthermore, the defensive numbers from recent weeks are equally concerning. The Villans have conceded at least three goals in three of their last five league matches, as many as in their previous 38 combined.
Their average conceded figure has jumped from 0.95 per game across those 38 fixtures to 2.2 per game in the most recent five.
That vulnerability will concern Emery, though Fulham’s inability to score makes it a somewhat theoretical worry for Saturday specifically.
Watkins and Leno, two individual storylines
Ollie Watkins carries a particularly impressive record against Saturday’s opponents.
The 30-year-old has scored six goals in nine Premier League appearances against Fulham, only his tallies against Brighton and Arsenal are higher.
The striker arrives in excellent recent form following his brace against Sunderland.
Between the posts, Fulham’s Bernd Leno has started each of their last 145 consecutive Premier League matches, the longest ongoing run of any player in the division.
Only five players have had longer runs in Premier League history, including Brad Friedel with a remarkable 310 consecutive starts.
Six consecutive victories. Eight from eight for Emery. Six goals for Watkins. The statistics are compelling, but three points at Craven Cottage still need to be won on the pitch.
