Aston Villa travel to the English capital on Sunday afternoon as they take on Premier League relegation battlers West Ham United. Fresh off the back of two successive victories, Unai Emery’s side will be eager to make it three on the bounce and move closer to a potential European qualification.
Now just five points outside of the top seven, The Villans’ hopes of embarking on a campaign abroad may no longer be so far adrift, but they must keep up their good form. The likes of Brentford, Brighton and Fulham all pose a threat – as do Chelsea, despite their struggles.
Villa must first get past West Ham, though, who are themselves desperate for a positive result this weekend. With his team just one point above the bottom three, David Moyes is under severe pressure at the London Stadium and a heavy defeat could perhaps seal his fate.
The Hammers have been very hot and cold of late as they lost 4-0 to Brighton in their last outing but won against Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline the week before. With that in mind, it could be a difficult game for Villa to claim all three points from – especially with key man Boubacar Kamara out injured.
Here is how we think Emery will line up his side against West Ham, with a tough decision to make in midfield. See below.
5. CB: Tyrone Mings
Will have taken plenty of confidence from back-to-back clean sheets and has been organising the offside trap effectively. | Getty Images
6. LB: Alex Moreno
Played well enough in the win over Palace to keep his place ahead of Lucas Digne. The two have been rotated plenty, but we back the Spaniard to start again. | Getty Images
7. RM: John McGinn
Always puts in such a shift and has been enjoying some great form on the right-hand side. Was the man to play through Matty Cash before the own goal last weekend. | Getty Images
8. CDM: Douglas Luiz
Near-enough everpresent in this team and has put in good shifts whenever called upon. Will be key to the midfield battle on Sunday, no doubt. | Getty Images