West Ham v Aston Villa: Stalemate stands-out at London Stadium

• West Ham impressing in the transfer window

• Villa bidding to kick-on under exceptional Emery

• Draw appeals at the prices on MD1

• Claim your completely free Acca or Bet Builder here

West Ham v Aston Villa
Saturday August 17, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports

West Ham begin new account

Optimism is high around the London Stadium. Julen Lopetegui is the new man in charge at West Ham and the highly-rated coach has been well-backed in the transfer market as the Hammers look to build on last term's top-flight finish. The Irons have overhauled their underperforming rearguard and impressively strengthened the squad elsewhere.

Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo are excellent additions at centre-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka upgrades the right full-back position with Guido Rodriguez a solid arrival in defensive midfield. With Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville supplementing the attack - and no major departures - the capital club command plenty of respect.

Lopetegui won't implement the swashbuckling style demanded from the stands - this will be more evolution than revolution compared to the David Moyes era - with West Ham aiming to emulate the likes of Newcastle and Aston Villa with a challenge towards the upper reaches of the Premier League. Meanwhile, Edson Alvarez is the only absentee this weekend.

Can Aston Villa kick-on?

Aston Villa have enjoyed an astonishing rise under Unai Emery. Appointed in October 2022 with the Villans hovering around the Premier League relegation zone, the Spaniard has transformed the club's fortunes, averaging an exceptional 1.88 points per-game, guiding the group into the Champions League and reaching a Europa Conference League semi-final.

Expectations have understandably risen but repeating those feats may prove a tall order this term with Villa now competing in Europe's top-tier competition. Moussa Diaby and Doulas Luiz are big departures; Ross Barkley, Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana are all solid signings and Emery's group are well-stocked, though natural regression could take place.

Boubacar Kamara remains sidelined until October with Onana expected to take over his role to start the season in defensive midfield, whilst Tyrone Mings is also still recovery from a long-term injury. Elsewhere, Emery is eager to bolster his attacking midfield options with the club reported to be in the hunt for Joao Felix, although a move is unlikely before Saturday.

History says Hammers enjoy Villa meetings

West Ham are unbeaten in their last nine home Premier League matches against Aston Villa - albeit, five of those fixtures ended all-square, including the most recent two London Stadium showdowns. However, across all venues, the Hammers have posted W6-D5-L1 facing-off against Villa since May 2015, losing twice in 16 match-ups going further back.

West Ham 2.568/5 were largely strong operators as hosts last term, suffering only four defeats - two of which were incurred by the runaway top-two. Exclude games against Man City and Arsenal and the Irons posted a creditable W7-D8-L2 at the London Stadium - seven of those eight draws came when facing-off against fellow top-12 finishers.

Aston Villa 2.829/5 returned W8-D4-L7 on their EPL travels in 2023/24 with half of their eight triumphs arriving against bottom-five opposition. Exclude the bottom-five and Villa managed W4-D4-L6 on the road, with all of their defeats coming against top-11 teams. Overall, Unai Emery averages 1.20 points per-game against top-half finishers with Villa.

Stalemate stands-out at the prices

West Ham and Aston Villa have displayed a penchant for draws in their most recent head-to-head encounters and it's difficult to dismiss the stalemate at 3.8014/5 on Saturday considering the circumstances. Julen Lopetegui will ensure West Ham are organised, robust and difficult to beat, qualities that Unai Emery is also renowned for with Aston Villa.

Tactically, the two astute Spanish coaches have a preference for counter-attacking football, emphasising the process of positional awareness and patience. Each club will have aspirations of European qualification - and whilst there is plenty of attacking quality on show - the price on the draw stands-out most from the available options on matchday one.

Bruno Fernandes SuperBoost!

Betfair are kicking off the new season with a SuperBoost at Old Trafford, with the hope that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes will be fouled 1 or more times.

Fernandes, who has just signed a new deal at the club, won 1 or more fouls in eight of his last 10 Premier League games for Manchester United at the back end of last season - winning 14 in total.

Fulham will know he is the main attacking threat and will have to stay tight to stop him pulling the strings.

Indeed, since his Manchester United debut in 2020, Bruno has been fouled more times than any other player a the club (180). Let's hope he can win one more, with the SuperBoosted price of 1/12.00 (up from 4/91.44)!

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