This Sunday, Aston Villa and West Ham, both donning claret and blue, go head-to-head. Surprisingly, both teams are surpassing expectations this season, based on Opta stats, with Villa standing four spots ahead at fifth and West Ham climbing seven places to seventh.
Given the form both teams displayed before the break, this clash promises to be exciting. Villa Park, under Unai Emery’s guidance, has turned into a stronghold, with Villa clinching victories in their past 10 Premier League home matches.
Aston Villa settled for a tie against Wolves pre-international break, but their commendable home performance should give them an edge against West Ham, who’ve had their share of luck this season.
Surprisingly, only the struggling Sheffield United have allowed more in-penalty-area touches than David Moyes’ West Ham, and no team has permitted more final third incursions by the opposition.
Aston Villa squad news
Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are still out of action for Villa due to long-term injuries, while Jacob Ramsey is on the mend from an ankle problem.
West Ham team updates
On the other hand, West Ham will check on Edson Alvarez and Michail Antonio’s condition after their international commitments.
The participation of Lukasz Fabianski in the upcoming match is uncertain, especially since he sat out the Newcastle clash due to an injury.
In their home games, 19 of these on-target shots were recorded, and Brighton’s goalie, Jason Steele, faced nine of these in Villa’s recent 6-1 dominance, emphasizing their strong home ground momentum.
Under Unai Emery, Villa boasts a 10-game home victory streak in the Premier League, netting 27 goals and conceding a mere four during this eight-month triumph, including wins over the likes of Brighton, Newcastle, and Tottenham.
While West Ham has faced some challenging fixtures recently, their consecutive 3-1 losses to Manchester City and Liverpool highlight their defensive lapses. Notably, 14 of their 22 Premier League defeats since the previous season’s onset were away games.
The Irons can draw confidence from their past successes against the Villans. However, considering Villa’s outstanding home record this season, West Ham’s ten-game undefeated run against them might be in jeopardy come Sunday.
