Aston Villa and Emi Martinez preparing to face Fulham and Raul Jimenez [credit: @brfootball on X]
Aston Villa and Emi Martinez preparing to face Fulham and Raul Jimenez [credit: @brfootball on X]
Match

Aston Villa star Emi Martinez must be wary of Fulham ace Raul Jimenez after what happened in Mexico

Max Wilkins
Max Wilkins

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior sports journalist with experience at GRV Media and VAVEL; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Exclusive content, statistical analysis, and deep-dive reporting across the Breaking Media network. THE INSIGHT Max utilises a network of club and industry contacts to deliver verified, exclusive reporting and data-driven insight. He provides the intelligence behind the stories to ensure fans get the full picture.

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Aston Villa star Emi Martinez must be wary of Fulham ace Raul Jimenez after he scored a free kick for Mexico in their against the USA on Wednesday 16 October.

El Tri secured a 2-0 win against Mauricio Pochettino's side in the Mexican state of Jalisco with the Fulham forward scoring the opening goal of the clash.

This stands the 33-year-old in good stead as Marco Silva's side prepares to welcome the Villans to West London in the Premier League on Saturday 19 October.

Ahead of the clash at Craven Cottage, the Villa goalkeeper will have to be wary of the home side's striker after what he did for Mexico.

Emi Martinez must be wary of Raul Jimenez for Aston Villa v Fulham

The former Wolves striker has struggled over recent years for goalscoring form but after a goal against Manchester City last time out, he has followed that up with a top-class set-piece strike on international duty.

Jimenez took aim from a long way out and faced a four-man wall between himself and Matt Turner in goal for USMNT.

Raul Jimenez v USMNT
Fulham star Raul Jimenez scored for Mexico ahead of Aston Villa clash [Credit: @brfootball on X]

The Fulham ace wrapped his effort around the wall and into the top corner which left the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper with no chance of saving it, despite his best efforts.

Raul Jimenez v USMNT
Fulham star Raul Jimenez scored for Mexico ahead of Aston Villa clash [Credit: @brfootball on X]

After seeing this, Martinez needs to be wary of the Mexico international's deadball ability in the Villans' clash at Craven Cottage.

This comes after nearly conceding last time out against Manchester United as Bruno Fernandes cannoned a free kick off the crossbar.

The Argentina international still had a positive afternoon at Villa Park against the Red Devils as he made four saves, keeping a clean sheet despite facing 0.97 expected goals [FotMob].

Villa's number 23 was also proactive without the ball as he completed 24 passes with a 75 per cent pass accuracy after having 40 touches throughout.

Emi Martinez
A world class save from Emi Martinez for Aston Villa against Bayern Munich (credit: TNT Sports on YouTube)

Defensively, the 32-year-old helped out his backline as he completed one high claim and eight recoveries throughout.

Looking ahead to a trip to the capital, Martinez must carry this performance with him but just consider Jimenez's usefulness from range.

In other Aston Villa news, one dud struggled once again in yet another shocker on the international stage.

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