Hammers to get up and running at Villa Park
West Ham United travel to Aston Villa on Sunday in aiming to pick up their first points of the season.
The Hammers have tasted defeat against reigning champions Manchester City, newly promoted Nottingham Forest and in-form Brighton and Hove Albion so far, with performances arguably better than the points tally that they have yielded.
David Moyes will reflect on particularly their trip to the City Ground, as a game where they should have got off the mark.
Villa have not been convincing in the slightest so far, losing to Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, with a narrow victory over lowly Everton sandwiched in between.
It was a surprise to see Villa favourites heading into this given West Ham’s excellent last two seasons, and the fact that the hosts are yet to really show promise under Steven Gerrard.
Background
Villa have seen a lot of investment in the last season or so, and it feels very unlikely that they are dragged into a relegation battle this term, but the board were not patient when Dean Smith started last season slowly, Gerrard needs a positive run to alleviate some pressure.
The Hammers are yet to score from chances equating to 4.2 expected goals (xG) so far, of course it is only a matter of time, and they may have taken a point at Forest had Declan Rice not been denied by Dean Henderson from 12 yards.
Maxwel Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca are very exciting signings to add some variety in the final third, and though Moyes will stay loyal to those who have served him well in the past, the duo will back their ability to establish themselves in the first team sooner rather than later.
Villa have been rocked by Diego Carlos being ruled out for the rest of the season through injury, seeing Tyrone Mings come back into the side despite being stripped of the captaincy during the summer.
On paper they are very strong, but are not realising their potential at the moment, similar to the situation with Frank Lampard, good players do not always make good managers, and there is a growing case that Villa would be better off with a more experienced hand at the wheel.
Villa are a side that I am looking to oppose at the moment, and there have been enough positive signs in West Ham’s opening trio to suggest that they are still going to be a top half side this season.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Price was wrong, Gerrard is losing his grip on the Villa job, 1-0 West Ham.