Aston Villa vs West Ham Prediction: Home advantage key for Villa

Graham Potter's first game in charge of West Ham United was against Aston Villa a fortnight ago in the FA Cup, and his side travel to Villa Park once again on Sunday afternoon (16:30, live on Sky Sports Main Event) this time in the Premier League.

The Hammers will be out for revenge after Villa came from behind to win 2-1 in that FA Cup clash, while Unai Emery's men will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League in midweek.

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Amadou Onana went off injured in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend with a hamstring injury, and he'll sit this one out as a result. John McGinn, Pau Torres and Ross Barkley will be sidelined until February at least.

Ollie Watkins will no doubt spearhead the attack, supported by the likes of Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia, while Emi Martinez will retain his place between the sticks.

The Hammers have a few injury concerns of their own as the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville will all miss the trip to Villa Park.

Jean-Clair Tobido is also in the treatment room, while Konstantinos Mavropanos is suspended after his red card last time out against Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa vs West Ham Odds

Villa are 4/7 favourites for the game, giving them an implied win probability of 63.6%, the draw is 100/30 and a West Ham victory can be backed at 5/1.

Ollie Watkins tops the anytime goalscorer market at 1/1, followed by Jhon Duran at 11/10, who has reportedly been the subject of a £57m bid from the Hammers. Danny Ings is shortest-priced for the visitors at 3/1.

Aston Villa to win and over 2.5 goals @ 6/5

As mentioned in the introduction, Potter's first game in charge of West Ham came in an FA Cup clash at Villa Park a fortnight ago, and I think it could be a case of deja vu for the former Chelsea gaffer when the sides renew hostilities in the Premier League this weekend.

Potter has since secured his first win as Hammers manager - a 3-2 triumph at home to Fulham - but they suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Crystal Palace last weekend.

Villa have failed to win any of their six matches on the back of a midweek Champions League tie but I believe that run ends on Sunday as Unai Emery's side look too strong for this weakened Hammers outfit.

Last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Arsenal highlights Villa's recent improvement and they have suffered only one league loss in their last 16 games at Villa Park, amassing 13 points from the last 15 on offer in front of their own fans.

Both teams to score @ 4/5

Villa should win this contest but I still think that West Ham can score at least once, as Emery has some key defensive figures in the treatment room. In addition, two clean sheets for Villa in 15 games will surely give the Hammers encouragement here, even without their array of attacking talent.

Potters' side have scored in each one of their last 10 away trips, apart from a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, however both teams have netted in the last five meetings between these two teams.

This bet landed in the aforementioned FA Cup tie two weeks ago, so I'm backing history to repeat itself on Sunday afternoon.

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