ASTON VILLA welcome West Ham to Villa Park on Wednesday night in what promises to be an intriguing Premier League match-up.
Both teams are going great guns this season, the Hammers are flying high in fifth place, while Villa are just three points adrift of their opponents having played two games less.
Last time out Dean Smith's side bounced back from a 3-2 defeat at Burnley by squeezing past Southampton at St Mary's, on a night where VAR controversy once again took centre stage.
The Villans will now be targeting a third-consecutive Villa Park victory in the Premier League when West Ham men come to town on Wednesday night.
David Moyes (above) has exceeded expectations during his second stint in the Hammers hotseat and in doing so has managed to keep many of his critics at bay.
However, the East Londoners eight-game unbeaten run came to an end on Sunday after being swatted aside by Liverpool, so Moyes will expect a response from his men in the Midlands this midweek.
Outright Betting
Aston Villa have avoided defeat in nine of their last 10 home matches with West Ham and the bookies odds suggest that trend is set to continue with a Villa victory trading at 23/20 with TonyBet.
Despite losing just two of their 10 top-flight road trips this term West Ham are a whopping 12/5 with William Hill, while the draw is best priced 5/2 with Bet 365.
Betting Angles
Eight of the last 10 meetings at this venue between these two sides have featured fewer than three match goals and I'm going to construct a same game multiple with a view to opposing goals on Wednesday night.
If we combine Aston Villa double chance, under five match goals and over zero West Ham cards we will be presented with a nice looking 4/5 shot with Bet 365.
Aston Villa's turnaround this season has been nothing short of remarkable and I suspect Smith's exciting attacking unit will give Villa the edge at Villa Park.
With that in mind, I'm happy to back Villa to avoid defeat on Wednesday night but I'll also throw in under five match goals to boost up the price on the Bet Builder.
17/19 Aston Villa league games this season have gone under 4.5 match goals, while just two of West Ham's 21 top-flight tussles this term have generated five or more strikes.
Given that Aston Villa are the most-fouled team in the Premier League this season coupled with the fact that West Ham are averaging one card per game I'll also back the visitors to collect at least one caution during this contest.
One player who could be worth considering for a card is West Ham right-back Vladimir Coufal who is 4/1 with UniBet to have his name taken on Wednesday night.
The Czech defender could be tasked with taming Villa talisman Jack Grealish – the most-fouled player in the league this season – and with that in mind, the above-mentioned price just looks a little too big to me.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and West Ham will be played on Feb 3, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs West Ham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
