The final bend: Fulham v Aston Villa match preview and team news

Villa will be on the banks of the Thames on Saturday with nothing but three points in mind

We’re in the part of the Premier League season where there aren’t enough matches remaining to fill a form table, which is always six matches for some reason even though 38 isn’t divisible by six.

Aston Villa have five Premier League matches left and the clearest of objectives. Brighton & Hove Albion are sixth and can reach 62 points. Brentford are ninth and can hit a maximum of 63.

Take goal difference as the equivalent of a point and the upshot is this: Villa are two wins away from securing a return to Champions League football next season with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley, Liverpool and Manchester City to play.

These are huge games not only for Villa but for the present and future of the Unai Emery project. All of this, everything that’s happened at this club in the last four years, it has to mean something.