Unai Emery Calls For Consistency From Aston Villa Ahead Of West Ham Clash

Add as a preferred source on Google

Unai Emery is urging his Aston Villa squad to maintain consistency as they prepare to face West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday. Despite a recent 1-0 loss to Monaco in the Champions League, Villa aims to extend their unbeaten streak in the league to five matches. They recently secured a thrilling 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Villa has bolstered their team with the addition of 21-year-old full-back Andres Garcia from Levante. Meanwhile, centre-back Diego Carlos has departed for Fenerbahce. Emery expressed optimism about Garcia's potential, stating, "He is a right full-back with potential. He is a young player. He was progressing so quickly." The club remains open to further transfers during the window.

West Ham's manager, Graham Potter, is also keen on strengthening his squad, particularly in attack. With Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug unavailable, Potter acknowledged the ongoing speculation but emphasised focusing on supporting current players. "At this time of year there's a lot of speculation but we just have to ignore the noise," he said.

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins is one to watch, having scored his 10th goal of the season against Arsenal. Watkins has been involved in 99 Premier League goals for Villa and could reach 100 goal involvements with another contribution against West Ham. Tomas Soucek of West Ham has also been in form, scoring and assisting in recent matches.

West Ham's Current Form

West Ham sits with 26 points from 22 games and is comfortably above Ipswich Town by ten points. As they gear up for their first away league match under Potter's leadership, they aim to improve their away record after losing ten out of their last sixteen road games.

Aston Villa's Home Advantage

Aston Villa boasts a strong home record with ten consecutive wins at Villa Park. Only Arsenal has a longer unbeaten run at home in the league. Villa seeks their first league double over West Ham since the 2010-11 season after winning earlier this season at London Stadium.

The Opta win probability favours Aston Villa with a 58.6% chance of victory against West Ham's 19.9%. A draw stands at 21.5%. With both teams eager for points, Sunday's match promises an engaging contest for fans.