Consistency continues to evade West Ham in the Premier League. The Hammers are 16th in the standings going into matchday 27 against Aston Villa. Just one point separates West Ham from the bottom three.
On Sunday, West Ham will welcome Aston Villa to the London Stadium. The Villains are 11th in the standings and on a two-match winning streak. Seven points separate Unai Emery’s team from the top six. Could Aston Villa make a late run at the European qualification places?
West Ham claimed a 1-0 away win earlier this season at Villa Park against Aston Villa. The match seems like a lifetime ago, as a World Cup took place in November around the same time that Steven Gerrard was sacked as Villa boss.
The Hammers go into the fixture with a fantastic recent record against Aston Villa. West Ham are unbeaten in nine straight games versus Aston Villa, and each of the last five head-to-head meetings ended as wins for the Londoners.
West Ham and Aston Villa met 47 times previously in Premier League matches. The Hammers just edged the head-to-head meetings with a record of 14W-20D-13L. Five of those 14 wins have come in recent campaigns.
Hammers manager David Moyes has faced off against Aston Villa 31 times in his career. He has a brilliant record versus the Birmingham-based club. Moyes won 13 matches, drew 12 games, and lost a mere six times. He faced Unai Emery just one time, claiming victory.
Interestingly, the only head-to-head meeting between Moyes and Emery as managers was in 2014-15 when the current West Ham boss oversaw Spain’s Real Sociedad. Sociedad defeated Emery’s Sevilla 4-3.
Emery faced West Ham just two times previously in his career, winning once and losing once. Emery oversaw Arsenal at the time of those matches.
Aston Villa took nine points from their last 18 points on offer in the league. Two straight matches ended in wins for the Villains. Aston Villa travel well under Emery, and four of their last five road matches were victories.
West Ham obtained eight points from the last six Premier League games. They are coming off a 2-0 away win over AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League last-16 first leg in midweek. The travel and midweek fixture could affect the Hammers’ performance on Sunday.