Emery hails ‘fantastic’ Kamara ahead of Aston Villa vs Fulham | OneFootball

Aston Villa are preparing to face Fulham this weekend at Villa Park, with the Villains hoping to turn around their miserable start to the Premier League campaign.

The Villans are winless in their last five league outings but will take encouragement from their mid-week Europa League win over Bologna.

Villa boss Unai Emery knows a win in this match could help put the turbulent season back on track.

He will need his players to bring their A-game, like Boubacar Kamara did versus Bologna.

Kamara put behind his fitness issues to deliver a stellar performance as Aston Villa beat Bologna 1-0, earning praise from Emery.

The Villa boss said (via AVFC.co.uk), “Really fantastic yesterday. We were waiting for his best performance in this season.

“He was coming injured in Brentford in the second match in league, and yesterday I think we agree, he played a fantastic match.

“This is the Boubacar Kamara we need, and we will need on Sunday.”

Kamara won a staggering 12/17 of his duels, played one key pass, and completed 100% of his dribbles.

The French holding midfielder will be key against Fulham’s aggressive midfield press.

With the Villans struggling to score, defending could be key to grinding out some points in the coming weeks and moving out of the relegation zone.

Kamara, whose job is to shield the rearguard, will be crucial to that defensive solidity as the Villains plot their comeback.

Unfortunately, the Birmingham-based club will not have Ross Barkley, Youri Tielemans, or Amadou Onana available to support Kamara.

The trio remain sidelined, leaving the team thin in the middle of the park.

However, Emiliano Martinez has shrugged off the muscle pain that made him miss the Bologna game and could be in contention.

Marco Bizot delivered an excellent performance in Martinez’s absence and could keep the starting berth.