Fixtures
- West Ham United Vs. Aston Villa – Sun, Mar 17th 2024, 14:00
At A Glance
Aston Villa return to domestic matters on Sunday as they aim to get back on track in the Premier League against West Ham United.
Unai Emery’s side swept past Ajax 4-0 on Thursday night to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League.
The impressive victory came on the back of a disappointing 4-0 home reverse to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, which ended a three-match winning sequence in the top flight.
Villa have won their last three league matches on the road and are unbeaten in seven in all competitions away from home.
West Ham were in Europa League action on Thursday as they overcame a first-leg deficit against Freiburg with an emphatic 5-0 victory, clinching their place in the last eight of the competition.
The club’s biggest European win in their history ensured they reached a third successive quarter-final, having lifted the Europa Conference League trophy last term.
In the Premier League, the seventh-placed Hammers are unbeaten in three, going six matches without a win prior to that, while they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Burnley at London Stadium last weekend, Danny Ings netting a late leveller.
Standout Stats
West Ham are unbeaten in their past eight home league games against Villa, winning four and drawing four.
However, Villa could defeat their hosts home and away in a Premier League campaign for the first time since 2010/11 and for just the second time ever.
Villa have earned three successive Premier League away wins for the first time since a seven-match streak in 2008/09.
The next victory will be the club’s 18th of the season, equalling their total for the whole of 2022/23.
Villa’s 29 goals scored in the first half of league matches this season is more than any other team in the division bar Arsenal’s 31.
The Villans are unbeaten in all eight Premier League visits to London under Unai Emery (W4, D4).
Ollie Watkins is aiming to become the third player to score multiple goals in three consecutive Premier League away matches, after Dennis Bergkamp and Harry Kane.
The Hammers are unbeaten in their last three league games (W2, D1), scoring nine goals, one fewer than they had managed in their previous 10 combined.
A 6-0 loss to Arsenal is their only defeat in nine home league matches (W4, D4).
However, they have dropped points in five of the seven league encounters this season that have followed a Europa League fixture.
The Last Meeting
Ollie Watkins will be assessed having been forced off in the first half against Ajax struggling with a cut to his knee.
Defender Diego Carlos also hobbled off on Thursday and is doubtful for the trip to east London, with midfielder Jacob Ramsey having missed the previous three matches due to injury.
Captain John McGinn starts his three-match ban having been dismissed against Spurs last weekend, but Ezri Konsa and Nicolò Zaniolo return to the fold having been suspended in midweek.
The Boss
“Sunday is very important for us and for them as well. We’re going to respect them a lot. It’s a big challenge for us to keep being consistent away, to keep being focused in each competition and trying to get the best performances. My objective is to recover with the players and prepare as best as possible the match on Sunday and to be competitive on Sunday because the only way to win there is being competitive. I also need to be clinical in every decision I take tactically.” – Unai Emery
