Aston Villa v Fulham Betting Tips: BTTS, 2018-05-26

Aston Villa and Fulham to both score in showdown for Premier League spot

Championship Tips

ASTON VILLA v FULHAM

Saturday 26th May 2018 – Kickoff: 1700hrs

Football – England – Championship Betting Tips

After a long and gruelling Championship campaign which has also included two semi-final play-off legs, it comes down to this final 90 minutes of the season for both Aston Villa and Fulham as they chase the final available spot which will return them back to the big time.

The Championship play-off final has become perhaps the most important domestic club fixture in the world as the financial windfall for the winners is now in excess of 100 million pounds which includes television rights, sponsorship deals etc, and the stage is set at Wembley Stadium for this final show-down.

Aston Villa did just enough to keep Middlesbrough at bay over their two legs in the semi-final as they secured what turned out to be a winning 1-0 scoreline at The Riverside Stadium, which was followed by a workman-like 0-0 draw at home in the second leg at Villa Park which earned them their place in the final.

Villa ended the regular season in fourth place, one league position but five points adrift of today’s opponents, Fulham, and their season run-in saw the west midlands club lose just twice in their last ten matches. Their away record ended on  10-4-9  30/23 but they finished the season with mixed results as they secured wins at Sunderland and Ipswich Town, but also fell to defeats at Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City and Millwall.

Striker, Lewis Grabban (8 goals) has scored 4 in his last 6 appearances and looks set to lead the line for Villa here. Grabban will have plenty of support from Adomah (14 goals) and Snodgrass (14 assists) as well as highly-rated midfielder Grealish who only missed out on a World Cup place as he’s playing Championship football.

Onto Fulham, and their semi-final play-off was far more tense and nerve-wracking for those concerned as they overturned a one-goal deficit in the first leg to win 2-0 in the second leg at Craven Cottage which sent the London club through to the play-off final.

Following back-to-back defeats away at Birmingham City on the final day of the season, along with the 1-0 loss at Pride Park against Derby County, it seemed that Fulham had once again blown their chances of returning to the Premier League, but goals from Sessegnon and Odoi turned their fortunes around, and they head into the play-off final as slim favourites over Villa.

Fulham were narrowly pipped to the post for an automatic promotion spot by Cardiff City who finished the season two points clear of The Cottagers, so Fulham had to make do with the play-offs, and although they lost twice in their last ten matches of the season, Fulham won seven of them in the season run-in.

Away from home, Fulham’s record ended up on  12-5-6  39/29 but they lost just once in their last ten on their travels, picking up six wins during this sequence. Striker Mitrovic (12 goals), on loan from Newcastle United, has been a revelation and has helped transform Fulham into genuine Premier League contenders, while Sessegnon (16 goals) can also count himself unlucky to not be on the plane to Russia for the World Cup. Midfielder Johansen (8 goals, 9 assists) is a vital cog in Fulham’s midfield and is set for an interesting tussle against Jack Grealish in the middle of the park.

Fulham’s superiority over Aston Villa away from home in the latter stages of the season perhaps gives them the edge here, but as we all know, the play-off final can throw the form book out of the window in no uncertain terms. Villa manager, Steve Bruce, has been here before with Birmingham City and Hull City, gaining promotion on both occasions, so maybe Villa have the edge in that regard?

Anyhow, with neither side looking a clear winner, I’ll back that both teams score here as they chase the ultimate prize of a place back in the promised land that is the Premier League.

Pick: Both teams to score @ 2.10 Betfair