England Premier League
Sunday 17th March 2024
Kick off at 2pm GMT
Venue: London Stadium
Match Preview:
It’s been a good week for West Ham as they have reached the quarter finals of the Europa League after thrashing Freiburg 5-0 and winning 5-1 on aggregate. This is the third consecutive time that the Hammers have reached a quarter final stage of a European competition. The club has also gone their last three games in the Premier League unbeaten after wins over Brentford and Everton. They drew here 2-2 against Burnley which despite coming back from two goals down was seen as a setback result. West Ham are in 7th place and even with a win they will not be able to move up as they are four points behind sixth placed Manchester United however of course a victory would be a huge boost for their European ambitions for next season. David Moyes' side have only lost one game at home in their last five and have been solid but fans are not happy as too many times he has set up an attacking side to play quite defensively. On the back of the great Frieburg win one wonders if Moyes will change tactics and go more for attack?
It’s been a strange week for Aston Villa. After being thrashed 4-0 at home to Tottenham that may have sounded like their top four hopes and therefore Champions League ones for next season were over. Think again. UEFA coefficient points mean that England are in line to have 5 teams qualify for the competition and Villa has an 8 point safety cushion to 6th place. All may not be lost. Still the defeat at home to Tottenham would have been shattering to a side who have mainly been brilliant this season. Villa’s form going into the Tottenham game was good too with 3 wins in a row. If Tottenham have won the day before then Villa will need to win to get back 4th place, so this game could well have added spice to it. Unai Emery’s side does have the 4th best away record in the league with 24 points won from a possible 42 and they have won their last 3 in a row on the road. Villa’s last defeat away from home came against Manchester United at the end of last year.
Team News:
West Ham: Emerson is being tipped to return after a groin injury and he will be assessed. Maxwell Cornet remains sidelined with his hamstring and it looks like he won’t be able to return until the end of the month.
Aston Villa: John McGinn is suspended after he was sent off last week and he won’t return until the first week of next month now. Ollie Watkins will be assessed for a gashed leg, but is expected to play some part. Diego Carlos is only 50/50 to return from a hamstring injury and will be assessed, Jacob Ramsey is also 50/50 for this game after recovering from a recent foot injury. Boubacar Kamara, Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia are all out long term.
West Ham vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
Last season this fixture finished in a 1-1 draw.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Aston Villa won 4-1.
It’s been 13 years since Aston Villa have won away at West Ham.
There is a 70% chance to see both teams to score.
West Ham vs Aston Villa Prediction:
West Ham have had the better of results over Villa in the past decade but we expect this to be a close game. Villa have been very strong this season and if the Hammers are not on their game they will suffer here. Still on the evidence provided we think the Hammers can win this game and despite some problems this season the fact that they have qualified for the quarter finals of the Europa League means there will be a feel good factor here and we expect the players to react to that.
Villa have been good but they are a side who can live on the edge away from home, they have a good record but they also have a record of scoring late and just coming away with the win at times. West Ham will be strong opposition for Emery’s side, expect a really enjoyable match with incident but we will nod in the favour of the home side.
West Ham vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Draw no bet (West Ham) at 2.00
Anytime goalscorer: Jarrod Bowen at 2.30
Both teams to score at 1.50
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