West Ham vs Aston Villa Prediction & Betting Tips (17 August)

Unlike last season, West Ham will not play a continental competition this year. The Hammers had performed well in the Europa League, eliminated by the irresistible Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate in the quarters after a decent run. The Londoners also had an interesting run in the EFL Cup, reaching the quarter-final but suffering a heavy defeat at that stage against Liverpool 5-1. In the league, it is therefore 9th place quite far from the first qualifier for Europe, Chelsea 11 points. Over the last few days, we have felt a certain resilience in certain matches, notably during the losses against Palace 5-2, Chelsea 5-0 and City 3-1. The preparation started with a draw against Ferencvaros 2-2. The residents of the London Stadium were then able to win against Dagenham 0-1 but they lost against Wolves 3-1. Two more meetings scheduled against Palace and Celta Vigo will follow.

Aston Villa is probably the biggest surprise of last season. Unai Emery got the best out of this formation, securing a 4th place, synonymous with qualification for the Champions League. A real feat which allowed them to finish ahead of teams like Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle or Manchester United. This place was obtained through pain, with setbacks against Brighton 1-0 and especially Palace 5-0, but still two interesting draws against Chelsea 2-2 and Liverpool 3-3 over the last 4 days. The Villans also had a good run in C4, semi-finalists but knocked out against all expectations by Olympiakos. The preparation started well with successes against Walsall 0-3 and Trnava 0-3 but it went wrong against Columbus Crew 4-1. The Birmingham players will still face Leipzig, Club America, Bilbao and Dortmund, enough to get in shape and prepare for the C1.

Several departures important enough to highlight them on the Hammers side, notably the end of the loan of Phillips who returns to City, Ben Johnson who leaves free for Ipswich, Benrahma bought permanently by Lyon, Kehrer who joins Monaco, and Downes at the promoted Southampton. Two very big arrivals on the other hand to highlight, those of Kilman from Wolves who comes to strengthen the defense, and the young Luis Guilherme, striker from Palmeiras. For the rest, nothing changes since the key players Alvarez, Soucek, Ward-Prowse and Paqueta populate the middle, and up front, the interesting Kudus and Bowen are still there, they who wreaked havoc last season in PL (24 goals , 12 assists between them). A few departures there too, since Zaniolo and Lenglet finished their loan, and Sanson and Iroegbunam were sold. But this is nothing compared to the departure of Douglas Luiz for Juventus, a transfer which should hurt but which replenishes the coffers with more than 50 million.

French right winger Moussa Diaby (6 goals, 8 assists) has headed to Saudi Arabia. Obviously, there are numerous reinforcements to play in the Champions League and make Luiz forget, notably the experienced Barkley from Luton, the two youngsters from Juventus, Barrenechea and Iling Junior, the dangerous wingers Dobbin and Philogene, but especially the return of Archer and the purchase of Maatsen for almost 45 million. Belgian defensive midfielder Amadou Onana (Everton) also arrived. All these transfers come in addition to the squad, Emiliano Martinez in the cages, Torres, Konsa and Mings behind, McGinn, Tielemans and Ramsey in the middle, or even Moussa Diaby and key player Ollie Watkins in front, author of 19 goals and 13 assists in the PL last year.