Paul Merson has predicted the scoreline as West Ham United play host to Aston Villa at the London Stadium.
After two draws against top-half sides in Manchester United and Brighton, West Ham take on a high-flying Aston Villa side who find themselves in third place.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have home advantage but do not go into this one as favourites, given Villa’s recent form as they’re on the back of a win against league leaders Arsenal.
West Ham’s record vs Aston Villa is AWFUL! What must Nuno do to mastermind a WIN?
Paul Merson lauds Unai Emery in Premier League prediction
Merson has hailed Emery for turning things around at Villa Park.
The Birmingham outfit were in the relegation zone after the first few weeks of the season, but have since been the league’s best team.
They are now just three points off the league leaders – a position most if not all Villa fans would have deemed unthinkable in September.
Paul Merson does not see West Ham beating Aston Villa. Does Nuno need to change his eleven to get the job done?
Callum Wilson must start against Emery's side.
While Merson has credited the Hammers for being solid in their last two games, he does not see them picking up anything from this one.
In his view, Villa are just too strong to drop points at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
He told Sportskeeda: “Aston Villa have been outstanding. In all honesty, even West Ham looked decent against Brighton and Manchester United. But this is a tough game for them with Villa flying so high in form.
“What an incredible turnaround it has been for Unai Emery after that worrying start to the season. He’s a coach who makes players better. That’s what he does best and Villa are benefitting so much.
“Emiliano Buendia is now fulfilling the potential he first showed at Norwich City. It was a tough start for him at Villa, but he has gotten better and better. If he keeps playing like this, he won’t be far from the plane that takes the Argentina squad to the 2026 World Cup. All the other teams should be worried if Buendia fails to make the Argentina squad after keeping up his form because that would mean the reigning world champions have such an unbelievable squad!
“Villa have won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions, it’s a dream run for the team and I expect it to continue against West Ham.”
Merson predicted the hosts to lose this game by a 3-1 scoreline.
Nuno must make major West Ham United change to win vs Aston Villa
Nuno has to drop Max Kilman if he wants to win or even get anything from the game against Villa.
The English defender played in a back three against Brighton and seemed to be a mistake waiting to happen.
A back four suits the Hammers more and playing that system could see Callum Wilson coming back into the starting eleven.
He had an instant impact coming off the bench to set up Jarrod Bowen’s equaliser and hopefully, Nuno gives him the nod to start on Sunday.
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