West Ham vs Aston Villa Prediction & Betting Tips - Premier League

Prediction published on 23/07/2020, 08:53  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 23/07/2020 at 09:53 in Premier League Predictions

15th placed West Ham United might have been spending the past few months dreading a final home game against Aston Villa who start this game in 17th. It could well have been a relegation decider for them but the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Wednesday has made them totally safe. West Ham come into this game having earned ten life-saving points from their last six home league games. Their away form improved too with five points from their last three games, after seven successive defeats. They have a lot of work to do during the summer if their dreams of European football are ever going to come true. Survival is good enough at present though. Keeping clean sheets isn't their strongest asset. That's only been achieved in two of their last 20 league games. Who couldn't score against them? Bournemouth and Norwich City is the answer, the current bottom two sides in the Premier League. The last 15 home league games have only seen them keep one clean sheet but they have scored in all but three of their home matches in the Premier League this season. Two of the three sides that they couldn't score against were Liverpool and Manchester City, the other being a recent 1-0 loss to in-form Burnley.

Aston Villa go into this final game knowing they can lose it and possibly still stay up. That’s a situation that looked unthinkable a few games ago. Then again, it’s a fact that they could win this match and still be relegated. Tuesday’s 1-0 home win over Arsenal saw them climb out of the bottom three on goal difference, sending Watford into the relegation zone.That made it seven points from their last three league games. Goal difference could yet determine whether Villa avoid an immediate return to the Championship. They would have been celebrating time after time as Manchester City put four past Watford. Villa now have the same number of points as the Hornets but a goal difference that is only one better than Watford’s. They lead Bournemouth by three points and their goal difference is also one worse than Villa’s. It could all get very complicated on Sunday.  Their defence has improved of late though with only one goal conceded in the last three league games, compared to five in the previous two. They have also scored in each of their last three league matches after failing to score in the three that preceded those. West Ham have little to play for now, their job has been done. Villa have improved at just the right time, go for both teams to score in this game.