West Ham United vs. Aston Villa Expert Pick and Prediction – August 17, 2024

WEST HAM UNITED VS. ASTON VILLA EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – August 17, 2024 — If ever a team needed to get off to a good start, it’s West Ham United. The Hammers should have been playing European soccer this year, but their crash at the end of last year ended those dreams. West Ham took just 10 points over the final 11 matchdays, leaving the Hammers a full three wins back of playing in Europe.

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Where West Ham faltered, Aston Villa did not. The Lions’ rise back to the game’s elite is complete, as Champions League action will return to Villa Park this season. For the first time in more than 40 years, Villa can legitimately call itself a top club.

And yet, there’s this issue to deal with: Villa have been one of the worst in the Premier League at starting the season. The Lions have avoided defeat just once in their past five season openers, and they got run over last season by Newcastle United. With Villa now in the role of the hunted, another similar performance would mean disaster.

Kickoff

Teams: West Ham United vs. Aston Villa

When: Saturday, August 17 at 12:30 p.m. EST

Where: London Stadium, London

TV: NBC

Spread: West Ham 0/Aston Villa 0

Moneyline: West Ham +150/Aston Villa +170/Draw +255

Totals: Over 2.5 (-170)/Under 2.5 (+135)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of August 17th, 2024 

Scouting West Ham United

West Ham’s finish was the perfect excuse to part ways amicably with David Moyes. Moyes’ style worked well enough in London, but it wasn’t very pleasant to watch. Julen Lopetegui comes in, promising to change things up and bring a more attacking style to the Hammers.

Related: Angell’s Sports Analysis for August 17

But attacking wasn’t the biggest problem for West Ham last year. The losing happened because West Ham couldn’t keep goals out of the net. Fans and ownership will tolerate boring soccer when it leads to 1-0 wins, but West Ham was seeing boring soccer result in 3-1 losses. The Hammers have to be more disciplined at the back to push for a European place.

Scouting Aston Villa

Aston Villa has opted to be aggressive in hopes of making a credible showing in Europe. Whether the changes bear immediate fruit remains to be seen. Amadou Onana came over from Everton, and the Villains have Ollie Watkins coming into his own after a strong showing at the Euros.

But the biggest concern for Villa is how it’s going to handle its new role. This team hasn’t been among the hunted in decades, as Villa has mostly just been kind of there for years. The Lions snuck up on the rest of the Premier League the past two seasons, but that won’t happen again.

Best Bets

Over 2.5 Goals (-170): The value here is poor. But it’s better than the BTTS play, which is going off at -210. Villa has allowed a goal in nine straight meetings with West Ham, and with the Hammers pushing a new attack, the goals should come.

West Ham and Both Teams to Score (+265): This is where the value lies. Both teams should be on the attack throughout this match, and both teams should have little issue breaching the opposing defense. With West Ham the hungrier side and playing at home, I expect the Hammers to come out on top.

West Ham 2-1 (+700): This kind of statement appears to be the right one for this game. West Ham’s got to make up for last season, and Aston Villa is the kind of team that eases into the season. Villa’s still set up for a strong season, but this battle of claret and blue should go to the hosts.