Aston Villa vs. West Ham United: FA Cup Match Preview & Prediction

At Villa Park on Friday night, Premier League teams Aston Villa and West Ham United will face off in the third round of their respective FA Cup campaigns.

With West Ham in the midst of off-field and on-field crisis, the two claret-and-blue teams will meet for the first time in England's national cup since 1980, when they went on to win the final.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

In last weekend's 2-1 victory against Leicester City, Aston Villa extended their undefeated home record to ten Premier League matches thanks to a goal from Leon Bailey, who broke his lengthy goal drought.

Although they didn't play up to their potential, the win moved the Villans up to eighth position in the Premier League, only behind Bournemouth, Manchester City, and Newcastle United, which bodes well for their chances of earning a spot in the playoffs at season's end.

At the Birmingham club's Bodymoor Heath training site, morale was likely bolstered after Unai Emery's squad won all four of their last 2024 matches.

Villa, who have won the FA Cup seven times, is back in the prestigious knockout tournament, hoping to end a terrible run of outcomes that began in 2017 and ended in 2023 with seven consecutive third-round losses.

With the exception of non-league clubs, only Rotherham United have ever endured more straight home losses in the lengthy history of the tournament. Past season, they managed to break that run with a 1-0 victory against Middlesbrough, but they still haven't won any of their past six cup games.

In honor of a momentous occasion, Villa will face off against West Ham—a team they beat 2-1 in league play earlier this season—wearing an all-black 150th-anniversary uniform.

The two teams will meet again later this month in a Premier League match; by then, the Hammers may have changed drastically under their new coaching staff.

After an unsatisfactory run as head coach of West Ham United, Emery's fellow Basque manager Julen Lopetegui was ultimately let go on Wednesday after an eternity of waiting.

Under his watch, the London club won only six league games; Manchester City's 4-1 thrashing last Saturday was their ninth loss in twenty Premier League encounters this season.

The board couldn't handle back-to-back losses by nine-goal margins, even if the Hammers are still safely above the relegation zone (14th position, seven points above the drop zone).

Even with all their injuries, Manchester City still managed to score four goals in their season opener against Lopetegui's squad, making nine matches in which they had lost by three or more goals. This came after Liverpool thrashed them 5-0.

Indeed, with a goal-scoring average of almost two per game, the team that new manager Graham Potter takes over from has the poorest defensive record in the league this season, excluding the promoted teams.

West Ham haven't lost in the third round in a row since a string of three from 2012 to 2014 (when they were eliminated by Bristol City in the FA Cup at this time last year), but given recent events, few would bet on them to win on Friday.

Aston Villa vs. West Ham United Team News

Due to the increasing number of injuries, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is expected to make substitutions to the starting lineup. With seven games in twenty-two days, Emi Buendia and Ian Maatsen, who are now on the bench, might be called upon to start.

While Morgan Rogers has served his punishment, captain John McGinn and center backs Pau Torres and Diego Carlos are out with hamstring injuries, respectively.

As Jhon Duran serves out his three-match suspension for aggressive behavior, Ollie Watkins will start up front for the team. Duran was heavily linked with a transfer to West Ham last summer.

Niclas Fullkrug should lead the charge for the away team's assault since the Hammers' offensive options are restricted due to injuries sustained by Michail Antonio (hard road to recovery) and Jarrod Bowen (new foot fracture).

Both Emerson Palmieri and experienced goalie Lukasz Fabianski are out with injuries; Palmieri missed last week's Premier League loss due to a minor ailment, while Fabianski is out with a concussion.

From the bench, West Ham might promote Konstantinos Mavropanos, Guido Rodriguez, and ex-Villa striker Danny Ings, but whether or not this happens in the club's first game back after Julen Lopetegui's departure is anyone's guess.

Our predictions

Aston Villa to win @ 1.70 on Sky247.ng

The biggest chance of silverware for both clubs is in this tournament, but neither side is likely to make it a top priority; thus, starting players might get rest, which could lead to an unusual result.

West Ham are now in shambles and are not expected to defeat their Premier League opponents at Villa Park, even if Aston Villa's terrible FA Cup record must work against them.

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