West Ham welcome Aston Villa to the London Stadium in a huge final day clash as Villa look to secure survival.
West Ham can secure a 15th placed finish with victory, whereas Villa will survive if they can match or better Watford’s result, although defeats for both could open the door for Bournemouth to snatch safety.
Team News
Embed from Getty ImagesRobert Snodgrass is amongst four players who could be available for West Ham, as the Scottish midfielder faces a late fitness test on a back injury that sidelined him in recent weeks.
Ryan Fredericks (calf) plus Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen (both knocks) will also be subject to fitness checks ahead of this match.
Villa could welcome Neil Taylor back from a hamstring injury if he passes a late fitness test.
Ahmed El Mohamady (hamstring) however joins Bjorn Engels (Achilles), Tom Heaton and Wesley (both knee) on sidelines.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have lost just one of their last seven meetings against Aston Villa (W2, D4, L1), with three of their four draws finishing goalless.
- Villa have won just one of their last six trips to West Ham (W1, D2, L3), although those six meetings all took place at the Hammers’ former Upton Park stadium.
- This is Villa’s first-ever trip to the London Stadium in all competitions.
- West Ham have won three of their last five final day matches, despite conceding in all five such games (W3, L2).
- Villa are winless in their last five final day league matches (D1, L4).
Prediction
After digging deep for a huge win against Arsenal in midweek, Villa really need to make their new found advantage in the relegation battle count when it matters most and just go for it here in case goal difference ends up being key.
West Ham however have found their scoring boots in recent matches and will relish this clash, because this is a huge opportunity to continue their momentum ahead of next season and especially against an inconsistent Villa defence.
I therefore am going for a Hammers win because they’re riding high on confidence and Villa will simply need luck to swing their way.
Prediction: West Ham United 3-1 Aston Villa
Result: West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa