Matchday Guide: Aston Villa v Fulham

Matchday Guide: Aston Villa v Fulham

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18 hours ago

By Aston Villa Football Club

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Sat 31 Oct

20:00

Fulham

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Villa Park

Aston Villa resume Premier League action at Villa Park on Halloween, hosting Fulham on Saturday evening.

Unai Emery’s men look to return to winning ways having bowed out of the Carabao Cup in midweek, with action in B6 getting underway at 8pm. 

Villa Park will come together to remember the fallen who made the ultimate sacrifice, in the club's annual official Remembrance fixture. 

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the encounter to enjoy your visit on matchday...

Key Information

Ahead of kick-off, B6 will welcome official supporters group the Military Lions as part of the pre-match Remembrance Parade.   

Members of the Armed Forces will line the tunnel for the players from when they come out to warm up, before parading out onto the field once the warm-ups have concluded. 

From then, there will be a wreath laying inside the centre circle, a reading of the ‘For The Fallen’ poem, a period of silence, and a rendition of ‘The Last Post’. 

During the silence, a fan-led display will be held up in the Holte End lower tier, alongside a walking banner display organised by the 1897 Group, with Villa players all displaying Poppies on their shirts.  

Please head to your seats early for our Remembrance Day tribute, which starts at 7.45pm.  

To read full details, click here. 

Aston Villa is proud to welcome the Royal British Legion to Villa Park on Saturday in support of the annual Poppy Appeal.

The Royal British Legion is the UK's largest Armed Forces charity, dedicated to supporting the needs of serving personnel, veterans and their families. This year’s campaign highlights the impact on the families of those in the Armed Forces. When someone serves, their family serves too.

Volunteers from the Royal British Legion will be bucket collecting around the ground ahead of kickoff, with a stand located opposite the Villa Store. Supporters can also donate online via the link below.

This Remembrance period, Aston Villa is showing support for the Poppy Appeal by wearing shirts featuring the symbol of a poppy.  

A selection of these poppy shirts will be up for auction with Match Worn Shirt, with proceeds going to the Royal British Legion.  

Aston Villa auction details below: 

  • Auction 1: Starts at kick-off vs Fulham on October 31 and ends on November 14 at 2.30pm. 

  • Auction 2: Starts at kick-off vs Manchester United on November 7 and ends on November 22 at 2.30pm. 

See more details and place your bids at with Match Worn Shirt here. 

Supporters are advised that the M42 motorway will be fully closed from 9pm on Friday, October 30 until 5am on Monday, November 2 as follows. 

Closures will be as follows... 

- Between Junction 6 and Junction 9 northbound
- Between Junction 9 and Junction 7 southbound

To read full details, click here. 

To help everyone’s visit go as smoothly as possible, we suggest all Villans to please:

  • Download tickets before you set off. If it slips your mind, we are pleased to let you know that free WiFi is now available at the turnstiles so you can connect. 
  • Arrive a little earlier than normal at Villa Park. One end of the stadium is an active construction site, so please allow enough time to make your way around and through the turnstiles. 

We are pleased to announce the launch of an all-new matchday WhatsApp channel for this season, which can be joined by clicking here. 

With a number of changes to Villa Park over the summer, fans who join the channel can expect ticketing and travel information and real-time updates to be pushed directly to their mobile device to help them successfully navigate Villa Park and enjoy your matchday experience.

To join the channel now, click here. 

Getting to the game

Click on the sections below to learn more about tickets, Villa Park and transport to the stadium.

Supporters are reminded to download the latest version of the Official Aston Villa App to download their match tickets ahead of kick-off.

All match tickets will now be issued in the Official Aston Villa App only, meaning you must have the latest version of the app downloaded in order to gain access to Villa Park on matchday. If you are unable to see your tickets, please log out and log back in.

Simply log into your Digital Account in the app and your tickets will appear under the ‘Tickets’ section. Supporters must update their app to the latest version to ensure in-app ticketing works without issue, and upon first open of the app, you will need to log out and then back in to verify your identity.

Villa Park is now fully NFC ticketing enabled for supporters to access the stadium. Near-Field Communication (NFC) enables fans to enter the stadium via Apple or Google Wallet.

A limited number of general admission tickets for the match remain. Book online here.

The best way to secure tickets for future matches at Villa Park is via a Membership. 

The club has a range of hospitality and GA+ areas to complement our existing offer. Check out all the information and book online here.

Hospitality bookings for our upcoming home matches can be made over the phone on 01214680445 (option 1) or by emailing hospitality@avfc.co.uk.

Children under the age of four are no longer permitted in GA, GA+, Club Si or Sports Bar seating areas.

Children under 4 can attend other hospitality areas, where there is direct access to areas and changing facilities. However, if you are attending with a child under 4, please let us know in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements for your visit.

It's important that supporters take steps to plan their visit to the stadium. 

Turnstiles open at 6.30PM, so make sure you arrive at the stadium in plenty of time ahead of kick-off to ensure smooth entry. 

Please note, access to turnstiles is maintained during the first half and will close once the half-time whistle is blown.

However you're planning on getting to the match, take a look at our Travel & Parking guide before leaving home. 

A traffic exclusion zone will be in operation around the stadium, meaning there will be less traffic on Trinity Road and Witton Lane from up to two hours before the match starts. 

Please plan ahead and check train timetables for direct services or travel earlier for less busy services. Please visit Transport for West Midlands’ Journey Planner or the National Rail journey planner here.

For real time traffic updates, follow @wmroads on X.  

Our dedicated city centre shuttle bus service, the AV82, will operate for the match. For more information on the AV82, visit here.

Our shuttle bus to and from Tamworth, the AV1, will also be in operation. For more information, visit here. You can also pre-book your ticket for the AV1 bus here.

To help you plan your journey by public transport, please visit How to get to Villa Park.

Supporters are advised that the supply of car parking around Villa Park is limited.

We will be continuing to work with local parking operators to offer fans the opportunity to book parking near to the ground. 

Match-by-match car parking for the game is available through our new official travel website, travel.avfc.co.uk. 

Aston Villa is delighted to confirm to supporters that our AV82 city centre shuttle bus service will continue to run on matchdays this season.

Run by Stagecoach, the AV82 shuttle picks supporters up from outside Birmingham New Street Station on Dudley Street, running directly to Villa Park. Buses run every 15 minutes, starting three hours before kick-off for every home fixture.

Services run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to 90 minutes after the final whistle of every game, with services departing from Grosvenor Road, on the walking route towards Aston Station. 

Traffic signals have been optimised around Villa Park to help improve flow of traffic away from the ground. This should assist with journey times for our AV82 city centre shuttle bus.  

The club also has a dedicated bus service, AV1, that runs to Villa Park from Tamworth on matchday. You can purchase tickets here. 

More information is available here. 

Covered and secure cycle parking is available on the North Stand plaza, opposite the Villa Store.

Supporters with accessibility requirements travelling to Villa Park by rail are advised to look out for the accessibility signage on both platforms at Witton Station.

Station staff will be able to help you if you wait in the designated areas. More information is available here.

For any supporters with additional mobility needs who have questions about travel to and from Villa Park on a matchday, please contact accessibility@avfc.co.uk.

We have a stadium-wide bag policy in place at Villa Park; all bags will be physically and/or visually searched at the stadium entrance. Any bags larger than 20cm x 15cm x 5cm will not be allowed onto the stadium footprint. For a full list of acceptable and prohibited items, please click here.

A matchday bag drop facility is now operating at Villa Park for bags which exceed the allowable size.

The bag drop facility is located on the corner of Witton Lane and Station Road.

There is a £10 charge per item and the bag drop is open from two hours before, until two hours after each game.

You can find out more information and register your bag(s) at villa.dropmybag.co.uk.

The Support Hub, located on the first floor of the Holte Pub, will be open every matchday, providing a safe and welcoming space where supporters can access mental health support, guidance, and resources. 

This pioneering initiative forms part of Aston Villa’s ongoing commitment to its community of fans, with the clear aim of raising awareness, reducing stigma, and encouraging help-seeking behaviour. 

With the tagline 'Supporting the Supporters', the Hub will be staffed by trained volunteers and mental health professionals who will be on hand to offer confidential advice, a listening ear, and signposting to specialist services.  

Text AVFC to 85258 to be connected to SHOUT - anytime, day or night, 24/7, for free confidential mental health and wellbeing support. 

Pre-match activities

Click on the sections below to learn more about activities taking place at Villa Park before kick-off.

PLEASE NOTE: The Sports Illustrated Warehouse WILL NOT be open to supporters for this game. 

Welcome the team to Villa Park when they arrive outside Trinity Reception at 6.30PM.

With live DJ, mascots Hercules & Bella and Villa chants encouraged, make sure to be there! 

Supporters are advised that the R44 accessible entrance will be closed for a period of time. 

On the Upper Plaza, opposite the Villa Store, our partners at Red Bull will providing the matchday playlist as well as the opportunity to take part in their e-sports gaming experience! 

The Trinity Marquee offers an indoor area with food and drinks for home fans with a valid match ticket.

The marquee is located at Trinity Road Stand entrance and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Villa Park offers a wide range of cuisine and beverages on a matchday, open from 5PM, with a number of upgrades made to our general admission food and beverage offering over the summer. 

This includes the following...

• Introduction of Homemade Pie offering, aligned with the recent developments in the Main Kitchen.
• Increased draught dispense capacity across all three stands of the stadium, with an additional 57 taps installed and upgraded nozzles to improve dispense times, plus five brand-new draft bars.
• Installation of Multi Dispense Units on Lower Holte Kiosks 2 and 3
• Launch of ‘The Holte Tandoor’ kiosk in Lower Holte, and Launch of the new ‘Lux Greek x Pop Street’ kiosk on Lower Trinity – providing a more curated menu suitable for both men's and women's fixtures.
• Upgraded confectionery and snack ranges, including the introduction of Brown Bag Crisps, Tony's Chocolonely and our own AVFC Jelly Mix.
• New kiosk branding across retail concessions, delivered in collaboration with our partners Carlsberg and Guinness.

Outside the stadium, several street food trucks will sit alongside a bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks.

Supporters are reminded that Aston Villa adopts a one-cup system at Villa Park, in our continued environmental sustainability efforts.

For this matchday, Kerbside Cobs will be located in the Upper Plaza outside the opposite the Villa Store. Kerbside Cobs is a converted food unit which is run by the Aston Villa Foundation.

Cobs on offer are the delicious Villa Cheesesteak (tender ribeye steak, fried onions, melted cheese and diced peppers with a gooey cheese dripping sauce) and the Floozy Halloumi (grilled halloumi, charred peppers, shredded lettuce, pickled purple onion, avocado mayo and a sweet chilli dipping pot). 

Villa Park remains a cashless facility. This includes the Villa Store, with card payments widely accepted in and around the stadium.

The only exception is programme kiosks outside the ground, which will still accept cash.

In-stadia betting kiosks will also be in operation for this fixture and such service will be provided on a cashless basis.

Physical and digital copies of the Aston Villa News & Record are once again available this season, both online and around the ground. 

The Aston Villa Official Programme app gives supporters access to every edition of the Villa News & Record in a number of languages, no matter where you’re following from in the world, and it’s available to download now from the App Store and Google Play.

Download on the App Store     Download on Google Play

Physical copies can be purchased for £4 from sellers around Villa Park and in the Villa Store, while it's also available to order online here.

Villans can purchase digital editions on a game-by-game basis or save money with a subscription. 

Villa Store

Click on the sections below to learn about merchandise points around the stadium.

There are a number of places where supporters can shop for Aston Villa merchandise on a matchday, including the upgraded Villa Store.

Below you'll find the opening times for each shop around the ground...

Villa Store: 9.30am-8pm and 9.30pm-10.30pm 

Holte Store: 5pm-8pm and 9.30pm-10.30pm 

Trinty Store: 6.30pm-8pm and 8.30pm-9pm 

Lower Grounds: 5pm-8pm and 8.45pm-10.30pm 

82 Lounge: 5pm-8pm and 8.45pm-10.30pm 

Warehouse: 4.30pm-8pm and 9.30pm-10.30pm 

Supporters can secure 30% off the Villan Range exclusively at the Villa Park Store ahead of our clash with Fulham.  

The capsule collection launch celebrates the Villa Villan, who supporters will have noticed on the Holte End tifos against Fenerbahçe and Viking earlier this month. The in-store exclusive range boasts a range of Autumn/Winter essentials in in claret, black and grey, perfect for matchdays.  

Take advantage of our matchday offer at the Villa Park Store and selected Hospitality retail kiosks*. 

*Please note, only a selection of products from the Villans range will be available in the hospitality areas. 

This half term, we also have 50% off selected club own brand clothing and adidas apparel.

In addition, there is 30% off accessories including water bottles, stationary and bags.

This offer is applicable to Villa Park purchases on matchday only. The applicable products are marked in-store. 

During the game

Click on the sections below to learn more about events that take place during the match.

If you witness discriminatory behaviour at a match or around a stadium, please report it to the police or a steward.

Fans can also report any discriminatory behaviour via our dedicated WhatsApp channel, by clicking here or scanning the QR code below. 

We would like to remind supporters that Villa Park is an all-seater stadium.

In all areas of Villa Park, we have children, elderly fans and those with medical conditions who are unable to see or watch the match if supporters stand up in front of them.

Please be mindful of this at all times and thank you for your cooperation.

Following a proposal from the Fan Advisory Board, the clubs is pleased to announce that the Lower Grounds will be open for fans in the Lower Holte as an extended concourse at half-time.

The space will be open ten minutes before half-time and will close ten minutes into the second half.

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