West Ham United are putting up one hell of a fight in the Premier League survival scrap and will hope to land a few punches on Aston Villa when they travel to the Midlands.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side looked doomed to the drop after losing back-to-back games against Wolves and Nottingham Forest in early January.
But the response since then has been terrific, with the Hammers tasting defeat just twice in 12 games in all competitions. That has boosted their chances of survival and only goal difference is still keeping them in the drop zone.
West Ham United need to keep their foot on the accelerator and this could be a good time to make the trip to Villa Park.
Unai Emery's men were title contenders not that long ago but they're now clinging to a place in the top four by their fingertips.
Three successive Premier League losses have seen Villa lose momentum and they could be tired for this match after a Thursday night Europa League clash with Lille.
Winning that tournament would secure a place in next season's Champions League but Emery will still want to have the backup of qualifying for Europe's biggest tournament via their Premier League finish.
How the bookies view it: Villa to get back on track
Despite their terrible Premier League form, Aston Villa remain favourites for this one at a best evens with StarSports. West Ham look a bit overpriced at 29/10 with BetMGM while the draw pays 13/5 at Unibet.
Recent head to head: Getting Hammered
Aston Villa won 3-2 at the London Stadium earlier this season and that made it seven games without defeat against West Ham. The Hammers last won in this fixture at Villa Park back in 2022.
Players to watch: Rogers can be jolly again
Morgan Rogers has gone off the boil for Aston Villa of late, going eight matches without a goal. He's too good a player for that drought to go on much longer and BetVictor price him at 2/1 for anytime scorer. Backing the forward to grab a goal or an assist pays evens at BetMGM.
West Ham's resurgence has coincided with the arrival of striker Taty Castellanos from Lazio. The Argentine gives them a focal point in attack and he's 13/8 at Bet365 for a goal or assist.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Probable line-ups
Aston Villa's injury worries are starting to ease but they still look set to be without Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash and Youri Tielemans while Emi Buendia is a doubt.
Winger Crysencio Summerville could return for West Ham but Lukasz Fabianski and Ollie Scarles are set to miss out again.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, McGinn, Luiz, Barkley, Rogers, Watkins.
West Ham United: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Todibo, Diouf, Fernandes, Soucek, Summerville, Bowen, Castellanos.
Anything else catch the eye?
West Ham haven't been losing a lot of games and will be fresher than Aston Villa for this game so they could be worth a punt in the double chance at 11/13 with Bet Goodwin.
The last meeting was a five-goal thriller so it bodes well for goals in the return and combining BTTS with over 2.5 goals pays 21/20 at Ladbrokes.
West Ham were on the back foot in their last game against Manchester City but they had won five or more corners in the six games before that. Over 3.5 Hammers corners pays 4/6 at Bet365 for this one while the odds are better at evens for over 10 match corners.
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