Aston Villa vs West Ham Prediction & Betting Tips (26 January)

Eager to qualify for the next Champions League, Aston Villa are currently 8th in the Premier League but are only 4 points behind the Big 4. The Birmingham-based team may regret having let a lot of points slip away in November. The Villans, on the other hand, have returned to an honorable level since then, as evidenced by the 5 successes obtained during the last 9 days, for 2 draws and 2 defeats. After winning against Leicester 2-1 and Everton 0-1, they took a good point at Arsenal last weekend 2-2. This week, Aston Villa lost to Monaco 0-1 but remains in the race to advance directly to the round of 16 of the Champions League. Declared candidate for the European folding seats this season, West Ham does not meet expectations at all.

Indeed, the London team is only 14th in the Premier League with 26 points taken in 22 matches. If relegation still seems far away, 10 lengths ahead of the red zone, returning to European places seems very illusory, 12 units of expenditure on 6th place. After setbacks suffered against big names Liverpool 0-5 and Manchester City 4-1, the leaders sacked coach Julen Lopetegui. Under Graham Potter, the Hammers lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup 2-1 before dominating Fulham in the league 3-2. Last weekend, they fell again against Crystal Palace despite the support of their fans 0-2.

For Aston Villa, important defender Pau Torres and former Nice player Barkley have not recovered from their physical problems. Furthermore, the participations of the starting midfielders Onana and McGinn are not assured. In the offensive domain, we should find the English internationals Rogers (6 goals and 4 assists in PL) and Watkins (10 goals and 4 assists in PL) while Duran (7 goals in PL) could once again be content with a role of supersub. This winter, defender Diego Carlos (Fenerbahce) and winger Philogene (Ipswich) left the club while full-back Andrés Garcia (Levante) and Dutch striker Malen (Dortmund) arrived in Birmingham. West Ham remains deprived of important attackers Bowen (5 goals and 4 assists in PL), Fullkrug (2 goals and 1 assist in 9 PL games) and Antonio (1 goal in PL) but also the starting defender Todibo.

Also absent on the last day, winger Summerville is, for his part, uncertain. Finally, the strong Greek defender Mavropanos is suspended. The offensive players Paqueta (4 goals in PL) and Kudus (3 goals in PL) should start this Sunday as will Czech midfielder Soucek (5 goals in PL).

• Summary: Aston Villa is going head to head with West Ham United starting on 26 Jan 2025 at 16:30 UTC at Villa Park stadium, Birmingham city, England. The match is a part of the Premier League .
• Referee: Peter Bankes
• Aston Villa Feedinco Rating: 6.87
• West Ham Feedinco Rating: 6.83