West Ham United vs Aston Villa

West Ham United’s hopes of landing their first-ever Premier League top-four finish are on the line as high-flying Aston Villa are set to arrive at the London Stadium.

West Ham’s hopes of going the distance in the Europa League took a hit in midweek as they fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Sevilla in the first leg of their last-16 tie, making it three competitive losses in a row. The hosts are not having the best of times by any stretch of the imagination, having won only one of their last four Premier League fixtures (D2, L1), scoring one goal or fewer in the last three on the trot. Indeed, West Ham’s form wobble has seen them alternate between winning (4) and not winning (D2, L2) across their previous eight Premier League home outings. After beating Wolverhampton 1-0 in their most recent such contest, David Moyes’ men are looking to rack up back-to-back top-flight victories at the London Stadium for the first time since October/November.

On the other hand, Aston Villa have enjoyed a noticeable upturn in form, going from three consecutive Premier League matches without winning (D1, L2) to three league triumphs on the bounce. It’s worth mentioning that each of Villa’s three wins in that sequence came by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ including a scintillating 4-0 romping of Southampton last time out. An eye-catching run of form could inspire the visitors’ bid to halt their dismal six-game winless Premier League streak away to West Ham (D3, L3). While they drew a blank on four occasions during that six-match stretch, Steven Gerrard’s men have only failed to score once across their five Premier League road trips in 2022. But the ‘Lions’ have lost all but one of their six Premier League fixtures played on Sundays this season (W1).