The Premier League is back and Saturday evening sees West Ham hosting Aston Villa at the London Stadium, and it’s all change at West Ham as David Moyes’ era as manager ends as Julen Lopetegui’s begins.
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West Ham v Aston Villa Betting Tips
West Ham v Aston Villa Match Preview
Even though David Moyes delivered European silverware to the London Stadium, there was never a sense of unity when it came to his relationship with West Ham’s fans. Always a murmur as to whether he should be at the club, a murmur that eventually become too loud for the Scotsman.
Moyes second tenure as West Ham manager came to rather uninspiring end at the back end of last season and even though the Hammers will always have that night in Prague, they failed to return to Europe for this season.
Large portions of the Hammers’ fanbase getting what they wanted in Moyes departure, but there is always that feeling that you must be careful what you wish for, and one wonders if they would have wished for the installation of Julen Lopetegui as his managerial replacement.
Wishes or not, there is no doubt that Lopetegui has been backed in the transfer market – something that would be the ultimate point of frustration before his departure at Wolves 12 months ago and that backing comes with moves at both ends of the pitch.
Defenders Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo have been drafted in to stop the draft of goals going in at one end. German international Niklas Fullkrug has been captured from Borussia Dortmund in a bid to convert more chances at the other.
While when it comes to chance conversion, there were not many better forwards than Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins during the 2023/24 season. Not only did his goals help the West Midlands outfit to a top four finish, but there was also the small matter of that strike against the Netherlands.
His late winner against Ronald Koeman’s men topped off what was a fantastic campaign for the former Brentford man and with Villa now playing a part in the Champions League’s new extended format, the additional matches are going to be an additional test for Watkins and his teammates.
Teammates that no longer include Douglas Luiz after the Brazilian midfielder was sold to Juventus in a bid to help balance the books. A lot has been made of PSR restrictions over the course of the summer, Unai Emery’s side were one that felt the pinch.
Then again, they have managed to address Luiz’s departure with the arrival of Amadou Onana from fellow PSR victims Everton. Whether the Belgian can have the same impact as the departed Luiz is something to be worked out across the duration of this new Premier League campaign.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips and with both teams having undergone some form of change over the summer, it may take time to get up to full speed. Therefore, it is the draw at 13/5 that interest me the most.
In addition to this, I am going to back James Ward-Prowse to get the opening goal of the game. Anything in set piece territory will appeal to the 29-year-old and at odds of 9/1 to break the deadlock, it certainly appeals to me.
West Ham v Aston Villa Betting Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| West Ham Odds | 6/4 |
| Draw Odds | 13/5 |
| Aston Villa Odds | 9/5 |
Odds courtesy of Betfred, correct at the time of publication
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