BOTH Aston Villa and West Ham United will be bidding to return to winning ways in the Premier League when the pair square off at Villa Park on Sunday.
The two teams are separated by two points in the top-flight table, with the Villans sitting in fifth place and the Hammers two places further back in seventh.
Unai Emery’s hosts were involved in their first stalemate of the season before the international break when being held to a 1-1 draw away at Wolves.
Back at their West Midlands base this weekend, Villa will look to rediscover the winning feeling at the expense of West Ham.
David Moyes’ men have made a pretty promising start to the Premier League season, with their only losses thus far coming against big-hitters Man City and Liverpool.
Last time out, a brilliant late strike from Mohammed Kudus earned the East Londoners a well-deserved 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
Outright Betting
Aston Villa, who have triumphed in each of their last 10 Premier League home matches, are 19/20 favourites with William Hill
Despite avoiding defeat in three of their four top-flight road games this term, West Ham enter this encounter as 14/5 (Bet 365) outsiders while a point apiece has been priced up at 13/5 (Bet 365) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
Aston Villa are worthy favourites here but I'm going to bypass the 1×2 market and instead bundle up Aston Villa to Score, Over 2 Aston Villa Corners and Over 1 Aston Villa Card at 4/5 (Bet 365).
The Villans have come on leaps and bounds under Unia Emery's guidance and that can be attributed to an increase in their attacking output, with Villa scoring in all but three of their 33 league games since the Spaniard took charge.
What's more, Aston Villa have landed a blow in each of their 16 home games across that sequence and they're certainly capable of troubling a West Ham team who leak more than their fair share.
The Hammers have only managed to silence Sheffield United in the Premier League this season so far, not to mention their backline was breached in 16 of their 19 top-flight road trips last term.
As such, I'll back the hosts to score at least once on Sunday, but to nudge up the odds, I'll also go with a minimum of three Villa corners – a line Emery's men have covered in seven of their eight league games this season.
Given that Villa are averaging 2.75 yellow cards per-game in the Premier League this season, coupled with the likelihood of this being a keenly-contested affair, I'll round off the Bet Builder by backing Aston Villa to pick up at least two cards.
This Bet Builder would have paid out in three of Aston Villa's last four league games and I'm more than happy to support the same combination on Sunday at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Elsewhere, one player who jumps out in the To Score or Assist Market is Ollie Watkins who has been priced up at 4/5 with Bet 365
The in-form Aston Villa striker has had eight direct goal involvements across his eight Premier League appearances this season (4 Goals and 4 Assists) so he looks like a good value opportunity to either notch or provide against a West Ham side that are far from watertight.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and West Ham United will be played on Oct 22, 2023 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.