Looking to avoid back-to-back defeats, Aston Villa will welcome a struggling West Ham United side to Villa Park for a Premier League contest on Sunday afternoon.
The Villans were defeated on the continent by Monaco on Tuesday night, whilst the Hammers have been afforded a free week to mull over their loss to Crystal Palace at the London Stadium last time out.
Match preview
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After a four-game unbeaten run across all competitions to kick-start 2025 on a positive note, Aston Villa suffered their maiden loss of the new calendar year on Tuesday night, when a first-half effort from Monaco's Wilfried Singo secured all three points for the Ligue 1 side in the Champions League.
Nevertheless, the Villans are still in a promising position in the 36-team League Phase as they look to seal an automatic spot in the last 16 of UEFA's elite club competition, with the Second City giants sitting in ninth place, level on points with the top eight heading into next week's final round of fixtures.
Focusing on domestic matters, Unai Emery's troops flexed their considerable powers of recovery last time out in the Premier League to force a share of the points at the home of title-chasing Arsenal, who allowed both Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to find the net in the second half as the game ended 2-2.
Heading back to the Second City for the first time in over a fortnight, Villa will be looking to extend their 10-game unbeaten run at home in the Premier League, with only Mikel Arteta's Gunners (14) enjoying a longer period without defeat in front of their own supporters.
Lying four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea heading into this weekend, the Villans know that Sunday afternoon would be the ideal time to complete a Premier League double over West Ham for the first time since the 2010-11 season after winning at the London Stadium in August.
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After over a year out of management following his departure from Chelsea in 2023, Graham Potter decided that West Ham's vacant role represented a good chance to re-enter the scene, however it appears as if the Englishman has jumped right into the Premier League fire in East London.
The 49-year-old commenced his Hammers reign with an FA Cup defeat at Villa Park on January 10, before a pair of top-flight contests at the London Stadium brought mixed fortunes, with the most recent of those matches ending in a sobering defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last weekend.
Leapfrogged by the Eagles in the Premier League standings, West Ham failed to register on a single shot on the goal of Dean Henderson throughout the course of the top-flight battle, suggesting that Potter's decision to switch to a back-five formation weakened the hosts' attack.
Despite being sadly marooned in midtable just a few years after their historic Conference League success under David Moyes, the Hammers are in no immediate danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight this term, with Sunday's visitors to Villa Park 10 points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich Town.
Only Everton (6), Southampton (8) and Ruben Amorim's Manchester United (10) have netted fewer than West Ham's 11 away goals in the Premier League this term, with the East Londoners' sole success on the road in their last five outings arriving at the base of Ivan Juric's Saints on Boxing Day.
Team News
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Aston Villa are battling on without their preferred pair at the base of midfield due to the absence of Belgium international Amadou Onana.
Whilst the 23-year-old recovers from a hamstring strain suffered at the Emirates earlier this month, Tielemans is likely to partner Boubacar Kamara in the engine room.
With Ross Barkley in the medical room owing to a calf injury, Morgan Rogers could operate in the advanced-midfield role, allowing winter arrival Donyell Malen to start on the right flank.
Following Diego Carlos's switch to Fenerbahce and Pau Torres's foot injury, the Villans are particularly light at centre-back, where Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings will continue to hold down the fort.
Emery's men have another midfielder out of action because of a hamstring problem, with Scottish hero John McGinn last featuring for Villa on January 4.
Potter is dealing with an injury crisis at the beginning of his West Ham tenure, with Michail Antonio (leg), Jarrod Bowen (foot) and Niclas Fullkrug (hamstring) are all unavailable.
After collecting two yellow cards during the defeat to Palace last weekend, Konstantinos Mavropanos is suspended for the Hammers' trip to the Second City.
West Ham's options at the back are further restricted by the absence of summer signing Jean-Clair Todibo (muscle), whilst winger Crysencio Summerville (hamstring) is a doubt for Sunday afternoon.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans, Malen, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Kilman, Cresswell; Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Soler, Emerson; Paqueta, Soucek, Kudus
We say: Aston Villa 2-0 West Ham United
Unbeaten at home in the Premier League since late August, Aston Villa should be supremely confident of recording victory at Villa Park this weekend.
West Ham are fighting a number of injury and suspension issues ahead of Sunday's trip to the Second City, where we believe that the Hammers will slump to a second defeat in a matter of weeks.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
