An impeccably observed minute's silence at both Villa Park and the City Ground followed by fans singing God Save the King at both grounds.

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Managers Steve Cooper and Marco Silva are holding wreaths as they lead their teams out towards the centre circle at the City Ground.

The TV camera zooms in on a banner in the crowd at the City Ground which reads Clacton Reds and has a picture of Queen Elizabeth II on it.

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Aston Villa have gone 11 top-flight matches without a clean sheet, their longest run since a 26-game streak ended nine years ago.

Southampton have gone 17 top-flight away matches without a clean sheet for the first time since May 1990 to March 1991.

Nottingham Forest

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Dean Henderson's England CV consists of a 45-minute display against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley two years ago.

But two months before the start of the 2022 World Cup, the keeper who is on loan at Nottingham Forest from Manchester United, finds himself back in Gareth Southgate's squad.

Will he make the plane to Qatar?

"I know how important it is for him to play for England in terms of his personal objectives," says Forest boss Steve Cooper.

"I'm really pleased. He deserves it. He’s been excellent. We are lucky to see him on a daily basis. He’s really committed to his work here and what we’re trying to do. He is a hard worker and obviously a really talented goalkeeper.

"If he's willing to work hard and wanting to prove himself then his talent can really show."

Image source, Reuters

Villa have won just one of their past 10 league fixtures and lost 10 of 17, including four defeats in six this season.

They were relegated in each of the past three seasons in which they lost five or more of their opening seven league games, latterly from the Premier League in 2015-16.

Southampton's current run of 12 defeats in 18 league games began with a 4-0 defeat at Villa Park in March.

Southampton's seven points so far this season were all won from a losing position - they have conceded the first goal in each of their past five matches.

Lovely orange skies above Nottingham as we count down to kick-off.

A reminder that we are going to have a minute's silence followed by God Save the King before kick-off.

There will also be a minute's applause in the 70th minute to mark the late Queen's 70 years on the throne.

Fulham

Reporter: How many goals do you think Aleksandar Mitrovic can score this season?

Fulham boss Marco Silva: "It is not important. The important thing is for Fulham to win football matches, this is the main thing for us.

"If it is Mitro scoring, fantastic, if it is Vinicius scoring, fantastic as well.

"If it will be a central defender scoring it would great for us at the same time, it is not important who will score it is important for us to fight for the three points in every game.

"Mitrovic is much more than just about a goalscorer for us, the last few games he is proving that on the ball and off the ball."

Image source, Rex Features

Fulham

Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates his 28th birthday today. He can become the fourth Fulham player to score a Premier League goal for the club on his birthday, after Lee Clark (2002), Collins John (2005) and Dimitar Berbatov (2013).

The Serbian netted on his 26th birthday (the Cottagers' 1-0 win at Ipswich Town in the League Cup second round in 2020).

Saveene Johal, Punjabi Forest

Image source, Reuters

Two defeats last week - with a total of nine goals conceded over two games - have been equally bizarre and tough for us to take.

The 6-0 result against Manchester City was less of a surprise than the 3-2 defeat by Bournemouth.

The former are one of the best in the world, but the latter are simply a newly-promoted team. Just like us.

The expectation was for the Reds to triumph. An unfortunate, rare error from Scott McKenna gave the Cherries the opportunity to take the lead, and with that our point slipped away. It was a single fault from an otherwise impeccable player.

So, is this enough to want to dismiss our manager and a handful of players? Absolutely not.

In a post-match interview, Steve Cooper stated the need "to show [he] can be a good manager when things are not going so well". Cooper and the team are aware of their accountability. Let’s continue to respect that and them.

Crucial changes are required and the Bournemouth game could be the catalyst for that.

Learning curves and resilience go hand in hand.

Nottingham Forest

Image source, PA Media

Nottingham Forest have conceded NINE times in their last TWO Premier League games.

Will they get a much-needed clean sheet against the Cottagers?

Chris Sutton
BBC Sport football expert

This is a really big game for Aston Villa as we head into the international break with Steven Gerrard coming under a bit of pressure.

Southampton have made a better start to the season than Villa have, but the home fans will expect to win this one.

It's going to be close, but I think Villa will edge it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest are chasing Portsmouth's 17-year record of most debutants in a Premier League season, PA analysis shows.

Fourteen of Steve Cooper's summer signings have made their league debuts in the opening six matches of 2022-23. Willy Boly becomes the 15th tonight.

With deadline day arrivals Loic Bade and Serge Aurier yet to feature - and the January transfer window still to come - Forest are on course to overtake Portsmouth's record of 21 debuts in a single season, set all the way back in 2005-06.

Fulham are currently second and third on the list for most debuts in a single season, behind Portsmouth, with 20 in 2013-14 and 19 in 2007-08.

Fulham

Image source, Rex Features

Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored twice as many goals as the whole West Ham team have so far managed in the Premier League this season.

Will the prolific Fulham striker add to his six-goal haul against Forest?

Southampton

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Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is backing his young squad to be brave amid an emotional atmosphere at Villa Park on Friday evening.

Villa swept Saints aside earlier this year with a devastating first-half performance and, following Villa's creditable draw against Manchester City, Hasenhuttl is anticipating another fast start from their hosts.

"They will want to light the atmosphere and therefore will come out wanting to be active," he said. "This is what we will expect.

"We have shown in games this season that our young lads are very brave and do not care about the quality of the Premier League - they just want to show their qualities.

"We go there to show how good we can be."

Hasenhuttl also declared himself a fan of Villa's sprawling stadium and admits he enjoys taking his sides there - even after last year's 4-0 thrashing.

"I love this stadium," he said. "It's a beautiful, traditional football ground and that's what you think about when you think English football.

"But we're not going to look at a beautiful ground. We can hopefully show our qualities in a very committed way."

Steve Cooper has just told TV that Jesse Lingard is not starting for Nottingham Forest because of "tactical reasons".

He says he has a bigger squad to select from and that everyone wants to play, while decisions will be made on a "game-to-game" basis.

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This week in Chris Sutton's predictions, he took on Editors bassist Russell Leetch, who is an Aston Villa fan.

"This season has not been easy," he said. "It feels like we have bought a lot of players who might not be exactly what we need on the pitch, and things like the Tyrone Mings saga - when Steven Gerrard took the captaincy off him - have not helped the mood either.

"It is going to be very interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks. It feels like the fans have turned a little bit on Gerrard.

"He really needs a win here, because there will be more murmurs about his future if we don't. I think it will be a tight game but hopefully we will edge it 2-1."