Aston Villa have been hit by a big blow to key player Boubacar Kamara for West Ham as he makes it five to miss out on the trip to London.
West Ham welcome Villa to the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon looking to continue their recent strong record against them.
West Ham are in Europa Conference League action on Thursday night.
But the undeniable priority for under pressure David Moyes is West Ham’s Premier League survival. To that end West Ham know they must win at least five of their remaining 13 games to have a chance of staying up, starting against Aston Villa this weekend.
Aston Villa find themselves in something of a no-man’s land in midtable under Unai Emery.
But back-to-back Premier League wins means Villa are looking up the table rather than down it as the likes of West Ham and the eight other clubs below them who are all potentially involved in what promises to be one of the tightest relegation dogfights for years.
As a result the three teams who drop into the Championship could be decided by very small margins this season.
And so West Ham will welcome news emerging from Villa Park ahead of Sunday’s match.
Because Aston Villa have been hit by a big blow to key player Kamara for West Ham as he makes it five set to to miss out.
According to the Birmingham Mail, influential central midfielder Kamara is set for a month on the sidelines after sustaining an ankle injury in the win over Crystal Palace.
Kamara was rumoured to have been a target for West Ham in the summer. The Frenchman is a quality player and has been a shrewd addition by Villa on a free transfer. So Moyes will be delighted he won’t be facing him.
And it is being reported four other Villa first team players will miss the trip to West Ham too.
Brazilian defender Diego Carlos is back in training but won’t be available for the West Ham clash as he is not expected to be considered for action until April.
Leander Dendoncker, who twice came close to joining West Ham before his moves to Wolves and Villa, is also a reported doubt for the Hammers trip due to a ‘private matter’. The versatile Belgian might be available at the 11th hour but has not featured in training.
Philippe Coutinho is another set to miss the West Ham match with a hamstring injury and is not expected back until April.
And back-up goalkeeper Jed Steer is still some way off a return according to reports.
Let’s hope West Ham can take advantage of the Villa injuries and that Danny Ings can haunt his old side.