West Ham United vs Aston Villa preview
Posted on | December 18, 2008 | No Comments
Game : West Ham United (16th- 19 points) vs Aston Villa (4th- 31 points)
Competition : English Premier League
Venue : Upton Park, London
Kickoff : 17.30 GMT
Date : Saturday, December 20, 2008
Aston Villa will look to carry on from where they left against Bolton Wanderers when they travel to London face Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham side.
Villa’s 4-2 win over Bolton, coupled with Arsenal’s failure to pick up three points against Middlesbrough, ensured that Martin O’Neill’s side come into this game ahead of the Gunners in the league table. And with Arsenal playing league leaders Liverpool a day later, a win against the Hammers will heap more pressure on Arsene Wenger’s boys. Villa’s fringe side lost 3-1 to Martin Jol’s Hamburg in midweek, but several first team regulars, including Young, Friedel, Laursen, Barry and Agbonlahor are expected to be back this weekend.
Aston Villa form- last five games ( all competitions- A.Villa scorers indicated in brackets)
Hamburg 3-1 Aston Villa ( Nathan Delfouneso )
Aston Villa 4-2 Bolton Wanderers ( Gabriel Agbonlaho*2, Ashley Young, Bolton own goal)
Everton 2-3 Aston Villa ( Steve Sidwell, Ashley Young*2)
Aston Villa 1-2 MSK Zilina ( Nathan Delfouneso )
Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham
Villa away form in the English Premier League last five games ( Most recent first)
WWLWL
West Ham showed great character to hold leaders Chelsea to a draw at Stamford Bridge last week. The performance would have pleased Gianfranco Zola, who would have no doubt impressed upon his players the need for many more games like that. Scott Parker was excellent in midfield, and the Hammers might even have won the game had Carlton Cole not failed to convert his late chance.
West Ham United- last five games- all competitions- West Ham scorers indicated in brackets
Chelsea 1-1 West Ham ( Craig Bellamy)
West Ham 0-2 Tottenham
Liverpool 0-0 West Ham
Sunderland 0-1 West Ham ( Valon Behrami)
West Ham 0-0 Portsmouth
West Ham home form- last five games
LDLLL
Villa have not lost a league game since early November, while West Ham are yet to record a victory at home after their win over Newcastle in September.
Last season’s corresponding game was an entertaining 2-2 draw, with Dean Ashton scoring a late equaliser for the Hammers. Ashton is one of three West Ham players sure to miss this game, the others being Jonathan Spector and Danny Gabbidon.
Villa to win this 2-0, with Barry and Agbonlahor scoring.
Related posts:
- Aston Villa vs Arsenal preview- December 26, 2008
- Manchester City vs Aston Villa preview
- Aston Villa vs Manchester United
- Everton vs Aston Villa preview
- Portsmouth vs Aston Villa preview
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