Unai Emery’s Aston Villa look to continue their fine form away from home as they travel to East London to face a struggling West Ham United. Here’s all you need to know heading into Sunday’s game at the London Stadium…
THE BUILD UP
Looking to break into the top half of the table is Aston Villa who hope to make it three wins on the bounce in the Premier League with victory over David Moyes’ West Ham this weekend. Wins against Everton and Crystal Palace in recent weeks rectified a three-game losing run where The Villans fell at the hands of Leicester City, title-chasing Manchester City and league leaders Arsenal.
Joachim Andersen’s own goal in the first half was the difference between Villa and Palace last Saturday, in a game that saw very few chances at either end. The game was largely dominated by the home side – helped by Cheick DoucourΓ©’s dismissal in the 62nd minute. The Mali international was firstly cautioned for a challenge on Boubacar Kamara before seeing red for a late tackle on Calum Chambers.
The Eagles failed to register a shot on target in 90 minutes and Unai Emery got the victory and clean sheet he hoped for that afternoon. The Villans remain level on points with Chelsea, but miss out on the top ten on goal difference.
West Ham, meanwhile, were torn apart by high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion last time out in the Premier League. Goals from Alexis Mac Allister, JoΓ«l Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck wrapped up a 4-0 for The Seagulls; a result that left West Ham fans chanting “sacked in the morning” at manager David Moyes.
Things looked up on Thursday night however, as The Hammers picked up a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final tie with Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca. A first-half brace from Michail Antonio was the difference on the night and the result leaves Moyes’ side in a good position for the return fixture in East London.
The focus is back on the Premier League now and the priority for The Irons is survival. West Ham have a good record against their opponents this week and are unbeaten in the seven matches played against Villa since their promotion in 2019 (five wins, two draws).
Can David Moyes inspire his side to another victory over Villa, or will Unai Emery continue to break ducts and find victory in East-London this weekend?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Midfielder Boubacar Kamara will be out of action for up to a month following an ankle injury sustained during last week’s victory over Crystal Palace at Villa Park. The Frenchman was on the end of a poor challenge from midfield counterpart Cheick DoucourΓ© – who was eventually sent off – and will not feature in claret and blue again until after the forthcoming international break.
When asked about the No.44’s condition post-game, head coach Unai Emery said: “Maybe itβs going to be some weeks away. Hopefully he is coming back quick.β
Belgian international Leander Dendoncker is another name who could take Kamara’s place in the starting eleven, although the 27 year-old missed the fixture at Villa Park last week for ‘personal reasons’. The former Wolves midfielder has not been spotted in any training images in the build-up to Sunday’s game in East London and is therefore expected to be absent this week.
Elsewhere, Diego Carlos continued to train with the first team on his road to a full recovery, whilst his Brazilian compatriot Philippe Coutinho is of course missing with the hamstring issue picked up in training before the visit to Everton at the end of February.
WEST HAM
As for this week’s opponents, West Ham, they have up to three absentees for this weekend. Goalkeeper Εukasz FabiaΕski is one of the missing men for The Hammers, with the Polish international fracturing both his cheekbone and eye socket during the 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest last month.
On his goalkeeper’s injury, manager David Moyes said: “We don’t quite know whether it’ll be operated on or healing itself, or a time-span at the moment.” Frenchmen Alphonse Areola has been the man to replace the veteran shot-stopper between the sticks since and is expected to start Sunday’s game at the London Stadium.
Michail Antonio could also miss this weekend’s match,after ‘feeling his calf’ prior to being substituted in midweek. The Jamaican forward grabbed both goals on the night, but may not have the opportunity to continue his goal-scoring form this weekend, with David Moyes stating: Β “I was taking him off anyway, but he felt his calf, so weβll need to check it out.”
To add, right-back Vladimir Coufal could also be out. The Czech international missed the Europa Conference League action on Thursday night due to a ‘plantar fascia issue’ (foot/ankle) and may not recover in time for the claret and blue clash this weekend.
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A BIT ON WEST HAM
Despite spending a whopping Β£175 million in the summer and a further Β£12 million on Danny Ings in the January window, West Ham sit 16th in the Premier League on 23 points and are just a point outside of the relegation zone with 13 games left to play. It has been an extremely poor season for David Moyes and his team after two impressive campaigns in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 that saw The Hammers achieve 6th and 7th place finishes and subsequently European football.
There has been a clear drop off this term, with many of the key players and new arrivals struggling to find form in claret and blue. Defensively, the East-London outfit are feeling the loss of Issa Diop and Craig Dawson and up top, Michail Antonio hasn’t hit the heights and Β£36 million man Gianluca Scammaca has failed to deliver. Tactically, David Moyes appears to have got it wrong time and time again too and many West Ham fans now want the Scotsman sacked for a second time.
Moyes’ side have performed well in Europe however and are on track for the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. After topping their group with maximum points (18), West Ham got a bye into the quarter-finals where they currently hold a 2-0 lead over AEK Larnaca before the home clash next week. Still in the competition are Villarreal, Lazio and Fiorentina who United must fend off if they would like to continue playing European football next season.
Winning the tournament would end a 43 year wait for a major trophy and would be a consolation for what has been a miserable Premier League campaign. Survival is well and truly the priority for West Ham, but once that is secured, they can focus on silverware.
Can David Moyes keep the bubbles blowing by beating off any relegation concerns and win his team their first major European trophy, or will we be seeing a trophy-less West Ham in the Championship next year? Moyes will be viewing each game as crucial from now until the end of the season and a win against Aston Villa on Sunday will certainly ease the pressure on the former Everton and Manchester United boss.
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Letβs take a look at Liamβs predicted line-up for this upcoming fixtureβ¦
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
Have your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
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AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Authorβs UTV PODCAST archive Liam Davies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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