Aston Villa (home)
- The form of Aston Villa (1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their last five in all competitions) has dipped a little and the same can be said of West Ham (1 win, 3 draws and 1 defeat in their last five Premier League games), so it is difficult to know which way this game will go.
- However, Villa’s home form has slipped of late, with no wins in their last two home games (D1, L1), and that should allow the visitors to get a result on Sunday.
West Ham (away)
- The gap between these two sides is clearly a wide one, but the visitors have proven tough to beat of late, recording a 1-0 away win at Fulham and a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City.
- New West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has clearly impressed upon the team his pragmatic, shape-first approach and the way the Hammers have set up so far is very different to the attacking flair of Villa under Unai Emery.
Head-to-Head
- Aston Villa have won two and drawn one of the last three Premier League head-to-head matchups, with West Ham winning none.
- Aston Villa have won nine of their 15 home games in the Premier League (D2, L4) while West Ham have won four of their 15 away games (D4, L7).
Key Players
- Morgan Rogers has led the line well for Villa this term, with eight goals in 30 Premier League appearances, but Jarrod Bowen has been West Ham’s most reliable player in the box this term with eight in 30.
- Bowen has also provided four assists in the last five games and could get on the score sheet again, while Tomas Soucek has chipped in with two goals in midfield across the same five outings to provide a little more threat in the penalty area.
Betting Insights
Both teams to score looks a good bet at 1.62 as this game should be a clash between two contrasting philosophies - Emery’s proven identity and Nuno’s emerging system.
Prediction
Aston Villa will surely win in the end, but with West Ham looking more capable of scoring since the arrival of Nuno and the fact that they have failed to win on their last two trips to Villa Park, the odds of 1.97 for a home win look a bit on the short side.
