Nuno Espirito Santo is certainly bringing a response out of West Ham United, but his resurgent Londoners can only dream of the sort of points Aston Villa are reeling in right now.
This, believe it or not, is Villa’s best run of form in 111 years.
West Ham United, as an institution, were only 19 years old the last time Aston Villa won eight matches in a row across all competitions. In the Premier League, nine wins have come in their last ten matches. No wonder Arsenal, stunned by their former boss last time out, are starting to glance nervously in the rearview mirror.
So as former Villain Paul Merson predicts another Aston Villa victory at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, he is unlikely to be the only one playing down the Hammers’ chances of climbing out of the relegation zone on matchday 16.
West Ham’s record vs Aston Villa is AWFUL! What must Nuno do to mastermind a WIN?
Yet, as Unai Emery opened up on Villa’s injury concerns following Thursday’s Europa League triumph over FC Basel, the home side’s odds may have shortened somewhat.
Villa are sweating on Emiliano Martinez and Paul Torres. Their World Cup-winning maverick goalkeeper will undergo a late fitness test before kick-off at 2pm. Torres, an ever-present during a run of nine wins in ten league matches, is also a major doubt.
Aston Villa fans worried as Emi Martinez and Pau Torres face West Ham United race
That Villa are coming back from a midweek trip to Switzerland anyway should give the Hammers hope, even if Emery did rotate his starting XI substantially with Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins beginning on the bench.
Yet, concerns over Martinez’s potential absence will have grown exponentially as Marco Bizot, his replacement, made a bit of a mess of Basel’s equaliser.
With Tyrone Mings also on the treatment table, meanwhile, 31-year-old Victor Lindelof is likely to start alongside Ezri Konsa on Sunday.
“There seems to be a huge gap in quality from [Evann] Guessand, [Jadon] Sancho, Lindelof and Bizot…” one Aston Villa fan noted.
“[The Basel game] is showing that we maybe can cope with one or two of them [out]. But with no Martinez, Torres, Kamara, [Youri] Tielemans, McGinn and Rogers, it makes a difference,” another wrote on X.
“Bizot is a better keeper than [former number two Robin] Olsen, but he is some levels below Martinez. Pau and Martinez best be fit for Sunday. Both are huge parts in our recent excellent form.
“What is Bizot doing there [for Basel’s goal]? Missing Martinez already.”
“Nooo, why Pau, why? You were playing good!”
“I’d play Kamara centre-back over Lindelof.”
“We definitely need to look at signing a centre-back in January. We can’t risk having no quality coverage in such an important position as centre-back.”
“Lindelof very solid [against Basel]. A good free signing for fourth choice, but I do hope Pau is fit for Sunday.”
Underdogs West Ham can cause a major SHOCK against Aston Villa!
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Unai Emery shares injury concerns as West Ham welcome Ollie Scarles back
As Manchester United fans will tell you, a defender some nicknamed the ‘Iceman’, partly due to his Swedish heritage, does have an unhelpful tendency of melting under the Premier League lights.
“They are injured,” Emery said on Thursday when asked about Martinez and Spain international Torres.
“Now, we have Konsa and Lindelof, both centre-backs, and [midfielder] Lamare Bogarde can play there. His versatility is fantastic. We will need players to feel comfortable, when we have players injured like [Torres] at left centre-back.
“[Martinez] has a problem in his back. He is not feeling 100 per cent well. [Friday] and Saturday, we will check him again. Hopefully, he is getting better for Sunday.”
In the home corner, West Ham could have Ollie Scarles back in the squad for the first time since losing to Leeds in October. Scarles’ return is particularly well timed. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf will leave for the African Cup of Nations after Sunday’s fixture.
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