West Ham United vs Aston Villa

West Ham United and Aston Villa are set to trade tackles in a handsomely-looking Premier League encounter at the London Stadium.

After a disastrous eight-game winless start to the new calendar year (D4, L4), West Ham are back on track, winning three of their last five outings in all competitions (D1, L1), including a 5-0 demolition of Freiburg in midweek Europa League action. That result saw David Moyes’ side overturn a narrow first-leg deficit and qualify for the quarter-finals, setting themselves up nicely for this revenge-poised contest. Aston Villa hammered the Irons 4-1 in the reverse fixture, putting them at risk of suffering their first H2H league double in the 21st century. However, West Ham can draw confidence from an eye-catching eight-game unbeaten H2H streak on home turf (W4, D4) and their recent league renaissance (W2, D1). But a 2-2 home draw against relegation-threatened Burnley last weekend spoiled their plans to return to the top-seven picture.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s hopes of securing their first top-four finish in the Premier League since 1995/96 took a tumble last weekend as fifth-placed Tottenham thrashed them 4-0 at Villa Park. With only two points separating the teams at the start of this round, Unai Emery’s men pick themselves up. Villa wasted no time recovering from last weekend’s humiliation, putting Ajax to the sword in midweek Europa League action to advance into the quarter-finals as 4-0 aggregate winners. Leaving the home comforts of Villa Park could be a blessing in disguise for the Lions, as they’re unbeaten on their last seven competitive travels (W4, D3), including three consecutive league victories via a combined score of 10-3.