Aston Villa v West Ham United preview: How to watch, team news, odds & more

Aston Villa are back in Premier League action at Villa Park this weekend with West Ham United the visitors.

The two are in contrasting form. Dean Smith’s side enduring their worst run of the year whilst the Hammers are riding the wave of their best.

With over a week since their last first team fixture, Villa will be the much fresher out of the pair but with David Moyes’ side knocking Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup midweek for the first time in 43 years (slight exaggeration), it will be them that go into the contest full of confidence.

From how to watch if you can’t make it to the game, to the latest team news, here’s all you need to know ahead of the match.

When is the game?

Aston Villa take on West Ham United at Villa Park on Halloween - Sunday 31st October. Kick-off 16:30 (BST).

Is the game on TV?

The game is live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports PL. It’s the second of two Premier League fixtures on Super Sunday. Norwich City v Leeds United is first up at 14:00.

How can I stream it?

Sky Sports customers will be able to stream the game online or via the Sky Go app on all good smart devices.

If you can’t make it to Villa Park on Sunday, VillaTV will also be providing full match commentary.

Team news

There are no fresh injury concerns for Aston Villa but Dean Smith will have some big decisions to make.

Leon Bailey made his return from injury in the 3-1 defeat at the Emirates and with another week of training behind him will be pushing for a start. Jacob Ramsey also made a big impression in his cameo last week and it wouldn’t surprise to see him from the off.

West Ham should also have a fully fit squad heading into Sunday. They go into the game off the back of an impressive Carabao Cup victory over holders Manchester City and it will be interesting to see if any of the more fringe forwards have played their way into a starting spot this weekend.

Form guide

Aston Villa: WDWLLL

West Ham United: WLWWWW*

* on penalties

You don’t need to be a genius to figure out who goes into this one in better form.

Villa are on their worst run of the season having suffered three defeats in a row whilst the Hammers are on their best, looking to make it five wins in a row in all competitions.

Dean Smith’s men are more than capable of competing with the best on their day though and with near a full fit squad to choose from, this has all the ingredients to be a very good contest.

Head-to-head record

Recent history isn’t what you want to look at from a claret and blue perspective.

Over the last 10 meetings between the two sides, Villa have just one win to their name compared to West Ham’s four with the other five being draws.

The one and only time Villa have won across the previous 10 match-ups came back in May 2015. A 31st minute goal from Tom Cleverley, assisted by a 19-year-old Jack Grealish, was enough to claim three points on the day.

Predicted line-ups

Aston Villa (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Ramsey, Luiz; Bailey, Ings, Watkins

West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Johnson, Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio

Score prediction

Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United

Villa are due a win and they are certainly good enough to get one at Villa Park.

The loss against Arsenal may spell the end of the 3/5 at the back experiment because the moment they switched away from that at half-time, they were far more threatening.

If Bailey comes back into the XI and we see a performance similar to that of the second 45 in London, I think Villa come away victorious on Sunday.

Betting odds

Aston Villa: 9/5

Draw: 12/5

West Ham United: 29/20

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