West Ham United host Aston Villa this Saturday as the 2024/25 Premier League season gets underway.
Aston Villa were a sensation last season in the English top flight, defying expectations to qualify for the Champions League – the first time they have done so since the competition was renamed in 1992.
Their early season form has been key to an impressive campaign and Unai Emery will be keen for his side to make a quick start again after investing in the summer.
West Ham said goodbye to David Moyes at the end of last season and brought in the stylish Julen Lopetegui, who played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Real Madrid and Spain. The Irons have also been busy in the transfer market but a difficult pre-season result could dampen expectations ahead of Saturday’s first leg at the London Stadium.
Here it is 90 min A guide to West Ham vs Aston Villa in the capital this weekend.
West Ham vs Aston Villa H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
West Ham |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
West Ham 2-2 Celta Vigo – 10/08/24 |
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Aston Villa – 10/08/24 |
|
Crystal Palace 3-1 West Ham – 04/08/24 |
Aston Villa 3-2 Athletic Club – 07/08/24 |
|
West Ham 1-3 Wolves – 28/07/24 |
Club America 1-0 Aston Villa – 03/08/24 |
|
Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 West Ham – 20/07/24 |
RB Leipzig 2-0 Aston Villa – 01/08/24 |
|
Ferencvaros 2-2 West Ham – 15/07/24 |
Columbus Crew 4-1 Aston Villa – 28/07/24 |
|
The country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO Extra, Sky GO |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO, NBC |
|
Canada |
fuboTV |
West Ham have a number of summer signings in line to be unveiled this weekend. They include Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville, Guido Rodriguez, Jean-Clair Todibo and Niclas Fullkrug.
New club captain Jarrod Bowen made his first Hammers appearance of the summer against Celta Vigo in a recent friendly, scoring alongside Lucas Paqueta. Both should feature against Villa.
Edson Alvarez is out with a hamstring injury at the Copa America, while new signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka is thought to be slightly concussed ahead of the weekend but could feature.
West Ham predicted to face Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Fullkrug.
Aston Villa have just three players missing for Saturday’s trip south, with Tyrone Mings still out with a long-term knee injury that has ruled him out for the 2023/24 season. Boubacar Kamara is also missing after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season and Robin Olsen could be out with a knock.
How Emery approaches the plethora of new players available to him remains to be seen but the likes of Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Jaden Philogene could all start. Elsewhere, Ross Barkley, Samuel Iling-Junior and Cameron Archer should feature in some way.
Ollie Watkins missed pre-season following his Euro 2024 tour but is still in the starting line-up at the London Stadium.
Aston Villa predicted to face West Ham (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Philogene, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Watkins.
The first weekend of the new Premier League season can do wonders. Aston Villa lost 5-1 to Newcastle United on Matchday 1 of 2023/24 but enjoyed one of their greatest seasons in modern history.
The London Stadium is likely to be filled with excitement and trepidation from both sets of supporters on Saturday evening, with an equally chaotic game playing out on the pitch. Both teams looked open defensively in pre-season despite finding the back of the net more often, which points to the end of the year story and the high price.
Prediction: West Ham 2-2 Aston Villa
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