Premier League updates from the 12.30pm BST kick-offLive scores | Golden Boot race | And you can email John Plenty to play for at Villa Park as Fulham keep sights set on the top-eight finish that should bring them European qualification and their highest Premier League finish. How will Aston Villa bounce back from the crushing disappointment of their no-show at the FA Cup semi-final, against Crystal Palace any Wembley last Sunday, that followed their Champions League exit? Maatsen replaces Digne at left-back but spare a thought for Ollie Watkins, whose sustained excellence over the past 18 months plus in leading Villa to this stage had resulted in his being demoted behind Marcus Rashford in Unai Emery’s favoured starting XI - only for the on-loan Manchester United man to be ruled out with a hamstring injury. Watkins is said not to be angling for a summer move, despite interest from Chelsea following that from Arsenal, but he must wonder what he’s meant to do. Still, Watkins is quality, has character, and a great scoring record. He’s scored in his last three meetings with Fulham and one more today will take him clear of Gabby Agbonlaor (both on 75) as Villa’s all-time leading goalscorer. Robinson and Lukic return for Fulham but Sessegnon keeps his place, just higher up the pitch instead of Willian. Continue reading...

The Cottagers visit Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime

Chelsea must beat champions Liverpool on Sunday to maintain their top-five push while Aston Villa host Fulham Friday 8pm Sky Sports Premier League Venue Etihad Stadium Continue reading...

Training image gallery ahead of return to Premier League action

Everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash at Villa Park

Aston Villa boss sits down for pre-match press conference

Unai Emery issues squad update ahead of Villa Park fixture

City will be wary of a resurgent Wolves, Graham Potter needs a derby win and Roméo Lavia is vital to Chelsea Six straight wins in a run of seven unbeaten has lifted Wolves to 13th. Now Vítor Pereira’s side pose a problem that Manchester City must solve as the latter chase maximum points from their last four games in the race for Champions League qualification. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in the last eight in all competitions and buoyed up by last Sunday’s reaching of a third successive FA Cup final, so this should be a close one. Keep an eye out for Guardiola potentially having a complimentary word with Matheus Cunha, as is his habit when coming up against a high-class opposition player. Jamie Jackson Manchester City v Wolves, Friday 8pm (all times BST) Aston Villa v Fulham, Saturday 12.30pm Everton v Ipswich Town, Saturday 3pm Leicester City v Southampton, Saturday 3pm Arsenal v Bournemouth, Saturday 5.30pm Brentford v Manchester United, Sunday 2pm Continue reading...

Visit Villa Store on Saturday to see unique artwork celebrating club’s 150 years

The club's manager has been recognised following a strong April

Read this article and more on NewsNow, the independent news discovery platform.

Match report from Barclays Women's Super League clash at Villa Park

Updates from this 8.15pm BST kick-off in LeighWSL table | Email Simon with your thoughts Stina Blackstenius has pulled one back for Arsenal, getting on the end of a long pass over the top of the Villa defence, running clear, and scoring past an exposed keeper. It’s 4-1 now. It’s a couple of years since anything like this has happened to Arsenal: in the space of a few weeks in April and May 2023 they lost league games 4-1 to Manchester City and 3-0 at home to Brighton, but they are not used to this kind of thing. Before this season they’d lost 10 games in three years; Villa have lost seven of their last 10; Manchester United tonked them 4-0 the last time they played a home game. Continue reading...