Aston Villa vs West Ham predictions: Kudus, Watkins on target

Fans will be greeted to an exciting match between Aston Villa vs West Ham at the Villa Park on Sunday in the Premier League. Kick-off is scheduled at 16:30 BST, 22 October 2023.

Unai Emery's Villa side played a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers just before the international break, the stalemate halted the team's two-match winning run but they have a chance at home to win again to continue their good start to the season.

While the Hammers earned a 2-2 draw at home against high-flying Newcastle with Mohammed Kudus ensuring West Ham avoided defeat in the 89th minute.

Aston Villa go into the weekend only four points off the top of the table in fifth while the Hammers are in 7th place with six points adrift of top spot.

Aston Villa vs West Ham team news

Alex Moreno is closing in on a return from a hamstring injury, as he eyes his first Premier League minutes of the season, but Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia remain doubtful.

Tim Iroegbunam and Jacob Ramsey have had to endure an injury-hit season so far and that could continue this weekend, with both players still a doubt for this game.

On the other hand, West Ham have James Ward-Prowse fresh after he once again missed out on an England call-up, while Ben Johnson is closing in on a return from a groin injury.

Aaron Cresswell is still on the sidelines, having been kept out of action so far this season with a hamstring problem. Also in doubt is Ben Johnson who has played only one game this season due to injuries.

Aston Villa vs West Ham probable lineups

Aston Villa

Emiliano Martinez (GK); Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Nicolo Zaniolo; Moussa Diaby, Ollie Watkins.

West Ham

Alphonso Areola (GK); Emerson Palmieri, Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma, Vladimir Coufal; Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse; Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio.

Aston Villa vs West Ham confirmed lineups

*Lineups will be automatically updated shortly after they're released

Aston Villa vs West Ham predictions

Emery's side have now won their last 10 matches at home in the Premier League, conceding only four goals in that run, and they will be confident of keeping the streak going here. The Hammers meanwhile have made a strong start to the season to recover from their last campaign's struggle. As such, this match promises to be a thrilling one. Here are three predictions for the game.

Prediction 1: Both teams to score

West Ham have both scored and conceded in eight of their last ten games, while Aston Villa have scored and also conceded in five of their last seven games. It's worth mentioning that this fixture has seen both sides scoring in six of the last seven meetings. We strongly back neither of these teams to keep a clean sheet.

Prediction 2: Mohammed Kudus to score at any time

The Hammers' attacking midfielder, Kudus, has scored twice for West Ham with one goal coming in the Premier League against Newcastle while the other came in the Europa League against Backa Topola. Although the former Ajax player is yet to make his first league start, we're backing him to find the back of the net in the minutes he gets on the field of play.

Prediction 3: Ollie Watkins to score at any time

Ollie Watkins is one of the form players for
Unai Emery and has been a major attacking threat in the Premier League and Europa Conference League for Aston Villa this season. Watkins has scored seven goals this season with two hat-tricks; four of those goals came in the league while the other three were from the UECL. Interestingly, the 27-year-old has scored in three of the last five clashes against West Ham and we back the player to breach David Moyes' side.

Aston Villa vs West Ham head-to-head history

In 118 matches between these sides,Aston Villa won 38 matches, West Ham won 45 while 35 matches were drawn.

Last five events

Where to watch Aston Villa vs West Ham live

United Kingdom

Fans in the UK will be able to watch this clash on Sky Sports Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Go UK, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Go Extra.

Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa

Fans in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa will be able to watch the live broadcast of Aston Villa vs West Ham on SuperSports GOtv Football and DStv Now.

This article was most recently revised and updated 12 months ago