West Ham United vs. Aston Villa Prediction, 7/26/20
Having confirmed safety in their previous fixture, 15th-placed West Ham United will end the 2019-20 Premier League season with a home game against 17th-placed Aston Villa, who are still fighting to avoid relegation. Kick-off - at 11:00 AM ET on Sunday, July 26.
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West Ham Secure Safety
West Ham United confirmed their Premier League status for the next season after extending their unbeaten run to three outings (W2 D1) following a 1-1 draw against Manchester United away at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The Hammers opened the scoring in first-half injury time from the penalty spot, with Michail Antonio netting his eighth snipe since the restart of the EPL (the joint-most of any player alongside Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling) before the hosts tied the proceedings six minutes into the following frame. West Ham now sits 15th in the league (W10 D8 L19) - four points above the bottom three.
English forward Antonio has buried a team-high 10 Premier league snipes for the rolling year. Goalie Lukasz Fabianski, meanwhile, resides 16th in the EPL with 69 saves. He has picked up five clean sheets in 24 contests during the ongoing campaign and gives up a marker every 61 minutes of play. The Hammers have scored the 9th highest amount of league goals this season (48) while delivering the 12th highest quantity of shots per game (11). The team is 16th in ball possession (45.0%) and 14th in passing accuracy (75.9%).
Aston Villa Boost Survival Bid
A gutsy performance gave Aston Villa a huge boost in their battle for survival in the Premier League after the team extended its unbeaten run to three contests (W2 D1) following a 1-0 triumph over Arsenal at Villa Park on Tuesday. The Villans gave up 69% of ball possession, but outshot the visitors 8-7, scoring the only snipe of the game in the 27th minute, with Egyptian left-winger Trezeguet banking his third snipe in as many games following a corner. The victory pushes Aston Villa (W9 D7 L21) out of the bottom-three only due to goal difference, with the team being level on points with 18th-placed Watford.
English playmaker Jack Grealish still leads the Villans with seven Premier League strikes this year. Goalie Pepe Reina, meanwhile, sits 23rd in the EPL with 33 saves. He has recorded two clean sheets in 11 outings during the current campaign and concedes a tally every 52 minutes on average. Aston Villa has netted the 13th highest quantity of league goals this season (40) while taking the 10th highest amount of shots per game (12). The team is 14th in ball possession (45.9%) and 12th in passing accuracy (77.1%).
Prediction
The excellent recent form of West Ham United, with Michail Antonio firing home a league-high eight strikes since the restart of the Premier League, has seen the team clinch a spot in England’s top tier for another season. Aston Villa, on the other hand, are still battling for survival, albeit on the back of some decent results (W2 D1). Visiting the Hammers, though, will not be an easy task, as the Villans have already failed to win any of their past four trips to East London and have managed to beat West Ham on just one of the last seven occasions overall (W1 D4 L2). Aston Villa haven’t won the final league match in any of their last eight seasons (D2 L6), but do expect an inspired performance on Sunday, with the goal-shy team finally having rediscovered its scoring touch through Egyptian forward Trezeguet, who has banked three snipes in his last three appearances.
Best bets:
Draw (+260)
Michail Antonio to score anytime (+165)