West Ham vs Aston Villa

West Ham’s goalless draw with Liverpool in the FA Cup 4^th Round further cemented their status as one of the most difficult sides in the Premier League to beat.

This made it just one defeat in their last 12 outings in all competitions, although seven of those matches have ended all square.

This good run of form has allowed them to take advantage of the poor form of some of the teams around them, and they come into this match in 6^th position in the Premier League. They are only one point behind 5^th place Manchester United as well.

Aston Villa are in a very dangerous situation. Their 13 points from their first 23 games puts them rock bottom of the Premier League, and the ten point gap between them and safety makes them sure fire favourites for relegation.

They have improved marginally over the past few weeks though, and until Saturday they had gone five games unbeaten in all competitions and managed to pick up their first two wins since the opening day of the season.

However, Saturday saw them slump to a dismal 4-0 defeat at home to Manchester City, and this humbling loss will have dented their confidence significantly.

West Ham have gone ten games unbeaten at Upton Park, and three of their last four home matches have ended with a West Ham win.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, haven’t won on the road since their opening day win against Bournemouth and they have lost nine of their 13 away days since then.

This makes odds of 17/20 for a West Ham win look really good value for money, and I’m also backing a 2-0 correct score prediction at 15/2 due to West Ham’s excellent defensive record and Aston Villa’s inability to forge goalscoring opportunities.