West Ham United boss David Moyes will be out to maintain his impressive form against Aston Villa as the Hammers travel to Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
Unbeaten in his last 14 Premier League matches against the Midlands outfit, the Hammers manager will be looking to extend the streak that started in 2010.
However, it may be easier said than done.
Wolverhampton Wanderers knocked Villa down from a three-game winning league run with a 1-1 draw at Molineux on the eve of October’s international break.
Despite that minor setback, Unai Emery’s men spent the two-week pause on the periphery of the top four, trailing fourth-placed Liverpool by a single point.
Villa’s form in the early season has proved us right to back them for another campaign-long fight for European football in our 2023/24 preview.
Like their hosts, West Ham drew their final fixture before the international break as Mohammed Kudus opened his Premier League account with a late equaliser against Newcastle United.
Moyes’ men were 1-0 up at half-time but were lucky to get away with a 2-2 draw following a six-game league stretch without sharing the spoils (W4, L2).
With only two points separating them from Villa at the beginning of this round, the London outfit will be out to extend their ten-game unbeaten H2H run (W6, D4) and take their hosts’ place in the standings.
Match Preview
Ollie Watkins was unlucky to hit the post with the last touch of the game against Wolves, failing to paint his contract renewal with flying colours by an inch.
However, a draw in the West Midlands derby took Villa’s points tally to 16, while beating West Ham for the first time since May 2015 would help them achieve their best nine-game Premier League start since 1998/99.
Emery must be relishing his odds. Villa Park has been a happy hunting ground for the Lions as they’ve mustered ten consecutive Premier League home wins for the first time since 1983.
Against this backdrop, they’ve lost their last three home league encounters against West Ham, as many defeats as in their previous 21 against the Hammers (W9, D9).
West Ham’s current run against Villa represents their third-longest unbeaten streak against a single opponent in Premier League history, increasing the likelihood of them posting a third consecutive away win.
Since a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on the opening Premier League weekend, Moyes’ troops have emerged victorious on four of their five travels in all competitions (L1).
Quick-fire starts have been essential to West Ham’s impressive results as they’ve opened the scoring in seven of their eight top-flight matches this season, more than any other side.
Jarrod Bowen, who put pen to paper on a new deal a fortnight ago, will be under the spotlight after finding the net in all four Hammers’ away league games this term.
Team News
Besides long-term absentees Alex Moreno, Kortney Hause, Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Jacob Ramsey, Villa have not picked up any fresh injury concerns during the international break.
As for West Ham, Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson remain the only unavailable players after Konstantinos Mavropanos recovered from illness that sidelined him for the last match.
Aston Villa potential starting line-up:
(5-4-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey; Ollie Watkins.
West Ham United potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Alphonse Areola; Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri; Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek; Lucas Paqueta, James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen; Michail Antonio.
We Say: Aston Villa 2-2 West Ham United
Nine of West Ham’s last ten Premier League outings have seen them score and concede, highlighting the potential for plenty of action on both ends of the pitch.
Villa are no strangers to producing spectacular contests themselves, so we expect the two high-flying Premier League sides to entertain fans in attendance.
