Aston Villa vs West Ham United

Villa Park forms the backdrop for a handsomely-looking Premier League showdown between Aston Villa and West Ham United.

Aston Villa’s hopes of securing automatic Round-of-16 qualification in the Champions League plummeted after a 1-0 defeat at Monaco during midweek, knocking them down from a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W3, D2). Villa’s quest to return to Europe’s top table via a top-four finish in the Premier League looks equally bleak, but confidence stems from a five-game unbeaten streak against West Ham (W3, D2). Unai Emery’s side fought back to beat the Hammers 2-1 in FA Cup action earlier this month, marking a tenth of their last 11 meetings to feature both teams on the scoresheet. That victory came at Villa Park, where the Lions haven’t lost a league match since late August, contributing to the division’s second-longest ongoing undefeated run on home soil (W6, D4).

Meanwhile, after enjoying a winning touchline debut in the Premier League, courtesy of a 3-2 home triumph against Fulham, new West Ham boss Graham Potter oversaw a dismal 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace. His side failed to register a shot on target in that fixture, and with talismanic forward Jarrod Bowen still on the sidelines, their chances of improving their underwhelming road record look slim. Indeed, the Irons have netted 2+ goals in just one of their last 11 competitive games away from home (W2, D3, L6). Therefore, it’s hardly surprising they’ve only won one of their four Premier League games on the road since the start of December (D1, L2). Topically, they’ve scored precisely once on their last three competitive visits to Birmingham (W1, L2).