Aston Villa v West Ham United: Premier League – stay | Premier League

The group sheets have been handed in, and right here is the information. Ollie Watkins begins once more, with Duran on the bench for Villa, with Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne the brand new faces from the group that drew with Arsenal. West Ham usher in Alphonse Areola in aim, and Vladimir Coufal and Carlos Soler out of aim.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Money, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Tielemans, Kamara, Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins. Subs: Olsen, Zych, McGinn, Duran, Buendia, Garcia, Malen, Maatsen, Bogarde.
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Kilman, Cresswell, Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Soler, Emerson Palmieri, Lucas Paqueta, Soucek, Kudus. Subs: Fabianski, Foderingham, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Irving, Casey, Scarles, Orford.
Referee: Peter Bankes.

“After all, West Ham, they don’t seem to be being constant, however they’ve now a brand new coach. Tactically, they will enhance,” stated Unai Emery on Friday. We’re about to learn the way a lot enchancment they’ve managed, however Villa have some bettering to do: certain, they’re eighth within the desk which is okay “(“Crucial for us is the Premier League, and to be within the desk’s prime eight positions,” Emery added), and have misplaced solely considered one of their final 5 league video games, however away from dwelling they’re not so sizzling: two wins and 5 defeats of their final eight within the league, which might put them sixteenth in a notional last-eight-away-from-home desk (in mitigation, these fixtures included visits to Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Liverpool). Emery stated their ambition was to “attempt to be constant like we’re for the time being at dwelling”, the place they might be sixth and unbeaten in a last-eight-games desk.

Graham Potter additionally thinks West Ham are going to enhance. “Our ambition is there – we need to get higher. We need to transfer in direction of a mode of play that our supporters recognise and are keen on,” he stated at his press convention on Friday. “It has been good to have an honest stretch of coaching. We have now managed to do some good work, analyse the final recreation and put together for Aston Villa, so I feel we now have used the time effectively. In each coaching session and after each message, I feel the intention has been there.”

This might be a super take a look at of their enchancment since Potter’s arrival, and what he’s managed to attain with that respectable stretch of coaching: these groups performed right here within the FA Cup a few weeks in the past, a day after he was unveiled as Julen Lopategui’s substitute, and Villa gained 2-1.

Since then West Ham have overwhelmed Fulham 3-2 (in a recreation the place they’d 4 pictures general and solely three heading in the right direction) and misplaced 2-0 to Crystal Palace (in a recreation the place they’d 4 pictures general and none in any respect heading in the right direction). For context, final season the common Premier League recreation featured 27.2 pictures in complete. Since Christmas West Ham have had a complete of 11 pictures heading in the right direction throughout six video games, whereas conceding 15 objectives on the different finish. It’s apparent the place that enchancment must be demonstrated. So, let’s see how they’ve acquired on, we could?