West Ham Preview

It’s West Ham up next with hopes that a mix of returning to a vociferous Villa Park and the benefit of playing an experienced team in the morale boosting midweek win over third tier Bolton will carry over into Villa’s second home League game of the season.

On paper this was our most difficult fixture of what had been presumed to be a gentle start to the campaign with the Hammers following promoted Bournemouth, relegation threatened Everton and mid-table certs Palace.

Sadly, as we all know, things haven’t worked out that way and so we go into the weekend to play what manager Steven Gerrard describes as a “huge game”.

But if things haven’t worked out well for Villa so far in the 2022-23 Premier League, neither have they for West Ham and both clubs are in desperate need for points to stave off what could become a crisis for a pair of teams that had been tipped for top ten finishes in 2022-23.

West Ham, though, out of form or not, are a dangerous opponent for Villa.

Tall, direct, physical with a focus on set pieces.

You probably couldn’t script a worse style for us to currently be facing.

If our defenders get any sleep this week with that to think about they are lucky, lucky boys.

On the flip side, West Ham boss David Moyes has always struggled to follow one strong season with another wherever he has been.

Putting aside anything around the general issues of form around the club, West Ham, quite honestly, have been a nightmare opponent for Villa for many seasons.

Admittedly we were in different leagues for three seasons but Villa’s last victory at Villa Park against the Hammers came under Tim Sherwood in May 2015.

We have to go back to April 2011 for our last away win which came under Gérard Houllier.

And that is not all, defeats against West Ham, stretching back many years now have tended to have one of two characteristics:

An absolute hammering or late heartbreak.

Last minute penalties, Tony Cottee, Marlon Harewood hat-trick, VAR & Watkins’ shirt sleeve, the list goes on.

We can’t rely on it of course but surely at some point our luck must turn against the Hammers.

Their style may be Villa’s nemesis under Gerrard but however late it may be, the season has to start coming good somewhere, and what a way to do it for Gerrard to overcome a side that on paper and in recent seasons has had it all their own way.

It won’t solve all the problems, it won’t wipe away the recent stains but boy what an opportunity for the under scrutiny boss to answer some of the questions against him with a dynamic and astute tactical performance that finally brings the points home against the Hammers.