Aston Villa vs West Ham United: Preview and Prediction
Aston Villa and West Ham United will lock horns in the upcoming 2022/23 Premier League season match. This match will be played on Sunday at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Both of these teams have had a disastrous start to their campaign, and hence, it will be a fixture of immense importance. The Villans have been inconsistent, having won only one of their first three fixtures. Steven Gerrard will expect much better performance from his players.
On the other hand, West Ham United has been consistently delivering poor performances. After an incredible 2021/22 season, David Moyes’ men are going through a rough patch as the Hammers have lost all of their first three matches.
Current Form
There have not been many positives to take from Aston Villa’s performances so far. They started their campaign against a newly promoted team in Bournemouth, and despite having a much better squad on paper, they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.
The second match, however, saw the Villans showcasing what they can actually produce. Against Frank Lampard’s Everton, Aston Villa registered a 2-1 victory. That being said, they once again failed to capitalize on the momentum and ended up losing their last match 3-1 against Crystal Palace.
West Ham United started their campaign against the defending champions, Manchester City, where they suffered a 2-0 loss. While that defeat was expected, the last results have left their fans frustrated and disappointed with the team.
Moyes’ men took on Nottingham Forest in their second match and suffered a 1-0 loss. In their last match, they failed to produce a fight against Brighton & Hove Albion despite playing at home and ended up losing the game 2-0.
Head to Head Record
When it comes to head-to-head records, West Ham United enjoys the upper hand. These two teams have crossed paths 116 times previously, wherein the Hammers have won 44 matches whilst the Villans have won 38 encounters. Besides that, 34 matches ended in stalemates.
In the last season, Moyes’ team won both fixtures against Aston Villa. The first match saw the team from London securing a 4-1 win, courtesy of goals from Ben Johnson, Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen. The second fixture ended 2-1 in their favour, with Fornals getting on the scoresheet once again, alongside Andriy Yarmolenko.
Team News
Gerrard will Brazilian centre-back Diego Carlos, who has had successful surgery but will spend the major part of the season on the sidelines. Besides that, loan signing Ludwig Augustinsson is also nursing a knee injury, but he is likely to be fit before the match.
Aston Villa could line up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Lucas Digne in defense, behind a midfield line of John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, and Jacob Ramsey. Philippe Coutinho is expected to play the role of a number 10, with Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins being the two strikers.
For West Ham United, new acquisition Nayef Aguerd is nursing an ankle injury and will only be back in October, while Craig Dawson is dealing with a thigh problem. Vladimir Coufal suffered a knock in the match against Brighton & Hove Albion, but he has since regained fitness.
Moyes is likely to roll out a 4-2-3-1 formation for this match. Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer, and Aaron Cresswell could form the defensive line, with Tomas Soucek and Rice providing double pivot. Having scored in both of the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League qualification matches against Viborg, Gianluca Scamma could be preferred ahead of Michail Antonio for the role of a striker, with Bowen, Fornals, and Said Benrahma operating behind him.
Predicted Playing XIs
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Minga, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Jacob Ramsey; Philippe Coutinho; Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins.
West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski; Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Cresswell; Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice; Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma; Gianluca Scamacca.
Prediction
Though Aston Villa has been slightly better the West Ham United so far in this season, the latter is ahead in terms of head-to-head records. Besides that, the win against Viborg must have boosted the spirits in the Hammers’ camp. Hence, we have predicted Moyes’ team to win this match.