West Ham vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-03-11 14:00.
A 2-0 victory over AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday provided some welcome relief from West Ham’s domestic struggles for under-fire boss David Moyes. The Hammers find themselves in a cluster of six relegation-threatened sides separated by just three points at the foot of the table ahead of the weekend and run the risk of ending the matchday in the bottom three should results elsewhere work unfavorably.
Where there’s Aston Villa, there’s hope though from a West Ham perspective, with Moyes’ men winning the last five Premier League (PL) H2Hs. The London Stadium may be the perfect place to extend that winning run as West Ham are unbeaten in their last three PL games here (W2, D1), while Moyes’ 13-match unbeaten run in managerial H2Hs against Villa (W8, D5) only serves to further fuel belief that the Hammers can open up some daylight to the bottom three.
Villa travel south buoyed by back-to-back PL victories which not only steered them firmly away from danger, but also moved them to within five points of seventh place ahead of the round. That highlights the remarkable work done by boss Unai Emery, who inherited a struggling squad back in November and has since won seven of his 12 PL games in charge (D1, L4).
In fact, if the PL started from when Emery took charge at Villa they would sit fifth in the table, but having lost five of their last six PL away games in the capital, it’s hard to see Villa building upon that here. This game falling on a Sunday could be the perfect antidote to Villa’s capital punishment though, with Emery’s men winning four of their last five (L1) Sunday-held PL games.
Players to watch: Making the January switch from Villa Park, West Ham’s Danny Ings could become the first ever player to score for and against Villa in the same PL season. Another man on the verge of history, Villa’s Ollie Watkins could become only the second player in the club’s history to score in four successive PL away games.
Hot stat: Villa are the only PL side not to lead an away league game at half-time this season (HT: D7, L5).