Aston Villa will look to get back to winning ways when they host West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday evening.
Aston Villa come into the contest against West Ham United on the back of a draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. So, the West Midlands club will look to bounce back with a victory at home.
They are currently fifth in the league table, and Unai Emery will want his side to move into the top four with a positive result here. Meanwhile, West Ham United are seventh in the league table, and they are coming into this game on the back of a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United.
The Hammers were quite impressive against Newcastle United and they will look to put on a similar performance here. If they can grind out a positive result against Aston Villa away from home, it would give them an immense morale boost.
Both teams are capable of grinding out a result at Villa Park on Saturday, and this should be a cracking contest between two evenly matched sides. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
David Moyes has been on a pretty decent run against Aston Villa, dating back to 2011.
West Ham 1-1 Villa 🤝
Villa 0-1 West Ham ✔️
West Ham 2-1 Villa ✔️
Villa 1-4 West Ham ✔️
Villa 1-3 West Ham ✔️
West Ham 2-1 Villa ✔️
West Ham 1-1 Villa 🤝
Man Utd 4-1 Villa ✔️
Villa 0-3 Man Utd… pic.twitter.com/BSBE8by8h0— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) October 20, 2023
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
Emiliano Buendia is out for the season with a knee injury along with Tyrone Mings. Alex Moreno is ruled out until November with a thigh injury, while Jacob Ramsey is on the sidelines as well for Aston Villa.
The home side will shape up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Emiliano Martinez in goal. Matty Cash and Lucas Diane will be deployed as the full-backs and contribute at both ends of the pitch. Ezri Konsa will partner Pau Torres at the heart of the defence.
Douglas Luiz will start in the middle of the park alongside Boubacar Kamara. The two players will look to protect the back four and break up opposition attacks. Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo will be deployed out wide.
The duo will look to create goalscoring chances and get on the scoresheet as well. Finally, skipper John McGinn will be deployed as the central attacking midfielder, behind Ollie Watkins who will lead the line.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Martinez; Cash, Torres, Konsa, Digne; Diaby, Kamara, Luiz, Zaniolo; McGinn; Watkins
West Ham United
West Ham do not have any major injury concerns ahead of this game. Lukasz Fabianski and Aaron Cresswell are expected to return to action this weekend. The Hammers are set to start in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Alphonse Areola in goal.
Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri will start as the full-backs. They will look to protect the central defenders and help out in the attack. Kurt Zouma will partner Nayef Aguerd in the heart of the defence.
Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek will start in the midfield pivot. While the Mexican will look to break up the opposition play, Soucek will add physicality and drive to the side. James Ward-Prowse will look to add creativity and control from the attacking midfield position.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta will be deployed out wide, and they will look to help create chances and add some width to the side. Finally, Mohammed Kudus will lead the line for the away side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta; Kudus
Key Stats
- West Ham United are undefeated in their last 11 matches against Aston Villa in all competitions.
- West Ham are unbeaten in five of their last six matches in all competitions.
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in four of their last five matches in all competitions.
- 18 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two sides.
- Five of the last six matches between these two sides have seen both teams score.
Player to Watch
Ollie Watkins
No player has scored more Premier League goals than Ollie Watkins (four) since the last international break 🔝
Will he continue his fine form after scoring for England too? pic.twitter.com/jW17e41j4f
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 15, 2023
The Aston Villa striker is in fine form right now, and he has five goals and two assists to his name in his last six appearances for club and country. He will look to get on the scoresheet here as well.
West Ham have shown vulnerability at the back this season and Watkins has the quality to punish them with his movement, link up play and finishing prowess. The 27-year-old is our key player to watch out for in this game.
Prediction
Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham United
Both teams are quite evenly matched, and this will be an interesting contest. Neither side will want to end up on the losing side, and they will look to pick up all three points here. This is likely to be an open game with a fair few chances for either side.
Neither side are defensive in their approach, and they will look to outscore each other. The two teams could end up cancelling each other out and a draw seems like the best bet if you want to get on to your favourite sports betting sites. The Hard Tackle is going with a 1-1 stalemate featuring the two claret and blue clad teams.