EPL: Aston Villa vs West Ham Odds & Preview
Villa Vying For Top Four
Villa vs. Hammers on Sunday
Aston Villa continues to improve under Unai Emery and will be thinking about sneaking into the top four this season. They’re currently not far off, as Villa are one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool. On Sunday, Aston Villa will welcome another European contender, West Ham, to Birmingham. The Hammers have won both of their Europa League group stage games so far and currently sit in seventh in the EPL. Both teams are typically exciting to watch and we’ll take a closer look at the Aston Villa vs West Ham odds for Sunday’s match.
Aston Villa vs West Ham
Day/Time:
Location: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
Head-to-Head:
These teams played in two low-scoring matches on the EPL schedule last season. Pablo Fornals scored the game’s only goal for West Ham at Villa Park last August. In the reverse fixture, Aston Villa and West Ham drew 1-1. West Ham is on quite an impressive run in this fixture as they’re unbeaten in the last 10 meetings. During that time, they’re 6-4-0.
Villa Dominant at Home
In their last match before the October international break, Aston Villa took on Wolves at the Molineux. Unai Emery’s Villa ended up falling behind in the second half from a Hwang Hee-chan finish. Just a couple of minutes later, Pau Torres got his first Premier League goal as the Villa defender scored off an Ollie Watkins cross. After Wolves’ Mario Lemina got sent off in the 89th minute, Aston Villa had a couple of opportunities to get the win but settled for a draw.
Even with the draw, Villa are in an impressive fifth place in the EPL rankings. Heading into Sunday’s match, the Aston Villa vs West Ham odds price hosts Villa as -110 favorites. So far, Aston Villa are a perfect 3-0 at home in the Premier League and have scored 13 goals in those matches. Watkins has starred for Villa this season, with four goals and four assists. Villa has much more depth this season compared to last, with players like Moussa Diaby, Nicolo Zaniolo, and Youri Tielemans.
Aston Villa have a few injuries as Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings are out long term. Meanwhile, Jacob Ramsey is expected to be out and Alex Morena is questionable. Aston Villa’s home form has presented a stark contrast to their road form so far. They have a +11 goal difference at home in just three EPL matches at Villa Park. Meanwhile, they’ve put up a -4 goal difference in five road games.
Hammers Unbeaten in Last Four
West Ham is one of a select few teams with two wins from their first two Europa League games. The Hammers opened up their campaign with a 3-1 win over TSC Backa Topola and also defeated SC Freiburg 2-1 on the road. West Ham has been an incredible soccer betting pick in European competitions over the last couple of seasons. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games in UEFA matches and are unbeaten in their last four games, in all competitions.
Last season, the Hammers struggled in the Premier League, as they finished in 14th. They won the UEFA Europa Conference League, though, and invested a lot of money in their squad over the Summer. New signing Mohammed Kudus equalized vs. Newcastle just before the international break in a 2-2 draw. James Ward-Prowse has been superb in midfield, with two goals and three assists, and midfielder Edson Alvarez has already made six EPL starts.
The Hammers are currently 4-2-2 in the EPL and are in seventh place in the league. Tomas Soucek has scored in back-to-back games. Meanwhile, Jarrod Bowen, Vladimir Coufal, Lucas Paqueta, and Michail Antonio have also been key players for David Moyes this season. Heading into Sunday’s match, defenders Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell are injured.
Match Analysis & Odds
Aston Villa are favorites to stay perfect at home here as they show both -110 ATS and moneyline odds. Meanwhile, West Ham, who are 2-1-1 on the road in the Premier League this season, are +260 underdogs. Notably, West Ham have won on each of their last three trips to Villa Park.
However, Aston Villa’s side hasn’t been this strong for quite some time. The Aston Villa vs West Ham odds list a draw at +275 and David Moyes’ Hammers wouldn’t be too mad about going back to London with a point. Neither side is short on game changers and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see both teams get themselves on the scoresheet. Under three goals do display -120 odds, though.
West Ham +0.5 sits at -110 odds and the Hammers have only beaten one top-half side so far. That was back in August away at Brighton when they came away with a 3-1 victory. With both teams knocking on the door of the top four, this should be quite an exciting matchup.
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