West Ham and Aston Villa will battle it out on Saturday evening in one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
There is plenty of anticipating in the air in East London as the post-David Moyes era gets underway. Julen Lopetegui will lead his team out for the first time in a competitive match on Saturday and there is a demand for more attractive football at the London Stadium.
Aston Villa will start the new season looking to replicate how they performed during 2023/24. With a season in the Champions League to look forward to, the Villains will be keen to ensure their league form doesn't suffer as a result.
How the bookies view it: West Ham go in as favourites
Despite finishing in fourth position in the Premier League last season, Aston Villa are the underdogs with the bookies for this one. A West Ham victory has been priced at 6/4 with Betfred while a win for Aston Villa has been priced at 9/5. The draw, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad result for either team here, has been priced at 13/5.
Recent head-to-head: A mixed bag
There isn't too much to take from the recent H2H record between West Ham and Aston Villa as both teams have taken points off each other at regular intervals. Across the last five matches, Aston Villa have won once, West Ham have won twice and two matches have finished level.
One stat that should fill West Ham with confidence, though, is that Aston Villa have never won a match at the London Stadium. Their last away victory against West Ham came back in 2011 at the Boleyn Ground.
Players to watch: Euros super subs to return
Two forwards who made their mark off the bench at Euro 2024 will play a starring role on Saturday evening at the London Stadium.
Niclas Fullkrug, who came on as substitute in all five of Germany's matches at the tournament, has signed for West Ham from Borussia Dortmund and there is plenty of expectation on his shoulders. The 31-year-old scored twice at the Euros and netted 15 times in all competitions for Dortmund last season.
Meanwhile, Ollie Watkins is expected to line up for the first time since he appeared in the Euro 2024 final on Saturday. Watkins scored a stunning goal off the bench in the Euro 2024 semi-finals to take England through to the showpiece event but failed to replicate his heroics in the final.
Predicted line-ups
Aside from Fullkrug, several other players could make their West Ham debuts on Saturday including Crysencio Summerville and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Villa could have some new boys in their starting XI, too, including Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen.
West Ham: Areola – Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson – Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez – Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville – Fullkrug
Aston Villa: Martinez – Maatsen, Torres, Konsa, Moreno – Bailey, Onana, Barkley, McGinn – Rogers, Watkins
Anything else catch the eye?
West Ham have been involved in some high-scoring matches in pre-season, indicating that that they could play a more open style of play this season. Villa were one of the most entertaining teams in the league last season and 20 goals were scored across their final five matches of the campaign. Over 2.5 goals to be scored on Saturday is priced at 8/15 with Betfred.
This English Premier League match between West Ham and Aston Villa will be played on Aug 17, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
