West Ham vs Aston Villa Prediction: Entertaining encounter expected

Phil Agius

Spotlight

Julen Lopetegui is set to embark on his first Premier League campaign as West Ham boss

- Both teams have scored in eight of the clubs' last nine meetings
- There were seven goals in the teams' two league clashes last season
- Recommended bet: Over 3.5 goals

West Ham and Aston Villa kick off their Premier League seasons when they meet at the London Stadium in the final game of Saturday's top-flight schedule (17:30 kick-off).

Both teams finished in the top 10 last season, with Villa securing a Champions League place in fourth, while the Hammers ended up a respectable ninth.

Team news

New West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui will not be able to call on midfielder Edson Alvarez due to a hamstring injury. Kurt Zouma is not likely to be selected as he is in talks to leave the club, but new signings Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville and Max Kilman could feature.

Villa's Tyrone Mings, Robin Olsen and Boubacar Kamara are all injured while centre-back Diego Carlos is not expected to play.

New recruits Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana could start and Ollie Watkins has not been ruled out despite not featuring in any pre-season games after returning from Euro 2024.

Villa striker Ollie Watkins has not featured in pre-season but could return against the Hammers

The stats

Villa have not won any of their last nine Premier League away games at West Ham.

Aston Villa have lost their opening top-flight match in each of the last three seasons, conceding 10 goals in these games.

Both teams have scored in eight of the clubs' last night meetings.

West Ham have netted in nine successive matches against Aston Villa.

Six of Villa’s last eight league matches have produced at least four goals.

Villa managed only two clean sheets in their final 15 league matches of last season.

Prediction

West Ham and Aston Villa provided plenty of entertainment in the Premier League matches last season and there should be no shortage of goalmouth action when they open their new campaigns at the London Stadium on Saturday evening.

Neither team has made a habit of making fast starts to the season, with Villa losing their opener in each of the last three campaigns, but goals have been plentiful as they have conceded 10 goals in those matches, including a stunning 5-1 defeat at Newcastle 12 months ago.

West Ham's first outings have not been quite so bad as they drew 1-1 at Bournemouth last season and could be excused a 2-0 loss to Manchester City the year before, while they also featured in a high-scoring game on the opening day at Newcastle in 2021-22, winning 4-2.

Both teams have recruited plenty of attacking talent, with Euro 2024 star Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville heading West Ham's offensive summer signings, while Villa have prepared for their Champions League campaign by adding Amadou Onana and Jaden Philogene, among others.

All eyes will be on the Villa teamsheet when it is announced as manager Unai Emery has to decide whether to risk his star striker Ollie Watkins, who returned to training only recently and did not feature in any pre-season matches, but he has plenty of high-quality options and Morgan Rogers will be itching to impress.

Both teams have scored in eight of the teams' last nine meetings and backing there to be at least four goals in another lively clash between the claret and blue clubs could pay off.

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