Villa eager to extend winning run as Hammers eye end to winless streak.
West Ham vs. Aston Villa kicks off at 14:00 [GMT] on Sunday, December 14, at the London Stadium.
The Hammers host Aston Villa this weekend, hoping to exit the relegation zone where they sit in 18th place, two points shy of safety, having accumulated just 13 points [3W, 4D, 8L]. It remains the club’s poorest start since 2017-18—though history shows they’ve avoided relegation the last three times they found themselves in this position. Last weekend, they earned a 1-1 draw with Brighton to remain winless in four PL games [WDLDD]. Putting an end to that winless streak remains the goal on Sunday but their head-to-head record against Villa is not encouraging. West Ham are winless in their last five Premier League meetings with Villa (D3 L2). It remains a stark contrast to the run of five consecutive wins they enjoyed before this current spell. Conceding late goals has been the bane of their troubles, with only Leeds and Newcastle conceding more 90th-minute goals this season. Defensively, West Ham remain fragile under Nuno Espírito Santo, who has now gone 21 straight Premier League games without a clean sheet across spells with Nottingham Forest and the Hammers — the first manager in Premier League history to end one tenure and begin another with runs of ten matches each without shutting out the opposition. Individually, there are milestones to watch. Jarrod Bowen sits on 99 combined Premier League goals and assists for West Ham and is one contribution away from joining Michail Antonio in the club’s exclusive treble-digit club. Meanwhile, for this fixture, Callum Wilson is expected at the attacking end of West Ham’s 4—2—3—1 formation.
For Villa, they make their way back for more Premier League action after a 2-1 win over FC Basel in the Europa League. Luckily, Villa are on a remarkable surge. Since failing to win any of their first five league games and not scoring in the opening four, Unai Emery’s side have produced one of the most dramatic mid-season turnarounds in Football League history. They’ve won nine of their last ten Premier League matches—more than any team in that time—and are currently on a five-game winning run [WWWWW]. Villa also ended a long drought away to West Ham last season, winning 2-1 to break a nine-game winless away streak in this fixture. They now have the chance to win back-to-back away games against West Ham for the first time since 1996. A well-seen 4—2—3—1 formation with Ollie Watkins in attack is expected against the Hammers.