West Ham head to the West Midlands on Monday night looking to continue their brilliant form. The Hammers are undefeated in their last three matches outscoring opponents 6-2.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team were hammered 5-0 on opening day by Manchester City, but rebounded with results against Brighton, Watford, and Norwich City. An argument can be made West Ham have defeated teams that will fight relegation, but they can only defeat the teams in front of them.
West Ham record signing Sebastien Haller has tallied three of West Ham’s six total goals. He will be confident in the final third against Aston Villa’s which has conceded six goals in four matches.
Dean Smith’s Aston Villa sit in the Premier League’s bottom three. They have obtained just three points from 12 possible. Aston Villa’s only victory came against Everton, 2-0, at Villa Park.
Aston Villa saw a lot of turnover at the club in the summer with new signings streaming into the club. Last season, Fulham suffered for their decision to bring in a wave of expensive transfers. Could Aston Villa experience the same problems as Fulham did?
The two clubs haven’t played since the 2015-16 Premier League season. West Ham were unbeaten in six of their last 10 Premier League matches against Aston Villa before the latter’s relegation to the EFL Championship in 2016.
Pellegrini has only two injuries to concern himself with. Defender Winston Reid is recovering from a knee injury. He is still a week or so away from returning. Michail Antonio is also ruled out of Monday night’s match with a thigh injury.
Smith has four injuries on his hands at Villa Park. James Chester and Matt Targett both have thigh injuries that may heal in time for them to take the pitch on Monday. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will be without Mahmoud Ibrahim Hassan and Jonathan Kodjia.
West Ham are undefeated on the road this season in the Premier League. The Hammers have collected four points from a possible six. They have tallied four goals and conceded just two as Pellegrini has the Hammers playing far better than they did on opening day.
Hat-trick hero Harewood 🎩 pic.twitter.com/nPehswT8cg— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 12, 2019
Hat-trick hero Harewood 🎩 pic.twitter.com/nPehswT8cg
Aston Villa’s only points this season came at home with a win over Everton. Despite looking better at home than on the road, Aston Villa will struggle to beat an in-form West Ham.
West Ham will pick up the win against Aston Villa away with Haller looking bright around the penalty area. The Hammers’ target man could get on the score sheet once more as West Ham win to nil against a struggling Aston Villa.