Aston Villa travel to East London on Sunday to take on West Ham United in their 16th Premier League match of the season.
Villa won the Europa League 2-1 away at Basel on Thursday extend their winning run in all competitions to eight games, a result that leaves them in third place in both the league stage and in the Premier League at the start of this match weekend.
Unai Emery remains calm. Villa are in excellent form, but the manager always makes it clear that every new match is a new challenge and that the objectives, no matter how close or far away at any given time, have not changed since the start of the season.
Steps forward for West Ham?
Such a steady hand did not exist at the London Stadium, where Nuno Espírito Santo was brought in at the end of September to replace Graham Potter as West Ham manager.
They were in the relegation zone then and they are in the relegation zone now, but Nuno is no sulk and the Hammers are, I think, showing some positive developments.
Their defeat to Liverpool put them back on the dotted line, but it was their only defeat in six Premier League games. They previously defeated Newcastle United and Burnley – both at home – and have drawn against AFC Bournemouth, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion in the past three weeks.
Potter achieved no such results. They need to win more and draw less, but progress is being made and West Ham will plan to get out of the relegation battle completely sooner or later.
Villa are unbeaten in six games against West Ham in all competitions. Before that, the Hammers defeated Villa five times in a row and were unbeaten ten times.
Villa team news
Emiliano Martínez and Pau Torres both missed the win at Basel on Thursday. Emery confirmed their absence due to injury and said on Friday they would be assessed before a decision was made on their availability against the Hammers.
With Villa due to return to training on Saturday morning, their status remains unknown.
Tyrone Mings is still sidelined and will be unavailable in the new year, while Ross Barkley is also absent and will return to action a few weeks after Mings returns.
Villa predicted line-up against West Ham
Martínez and Torres could go either way, but those of us who want to predict the team for every Villa match will have to decide before Emery and Villa’s medical staff.
My probably quirky bet? Both make the cut. Therefore, my prediction is that Villa will remain unchanged from the match against Arsenal.
That would mean big changes for the team that defeated Basel on Thursday, including restoring the partnership between Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana in midfield and playing Youri Tielemans against Ollie Watkins.
John McGinn and Morgan Rogers moving through the park like a bunch of bats in a garbage bag? Yes please.
Where can you watch West Ham v Villa?
Villa’s away match against West Ham United will be broadcast live Sky Sports Tennis in Great Britain.
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➡️Watch West Ham v Aston Villa: start time, TV channels and streams
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