Aston Villa vs West Ham United Predictions

• Aston Villa have lost one of their last 14 home matches
• West Ham have scored in ten of their last 11 away games
• Both teams have scored in nine of the last ten meetings

Villa looking to improve poor record

Aston Villa should take the first step of rectifying a poor recent FA Cup record by getting past West Ham in Friday’s live ITV showdown.

The Midlands outfit were knocked out in a fourth-round replay against Chelsea last year, but that performance came after seven successive falls in their first game in the competition.

However, Unai Emery’s team have looked a sharp outfit this season and have a realistic chance of going all the way in the competition this season.

They fell to Crystal Palace at home in the League Cup, but they ahve taken 13 points from their last five home games and have not conceded in Champions League games on their own patch against Bayern Munich, Bologna and Juventus.

Hammers can still threaten

Consequently, this looks a tough task for West Ham, who are licking their wounds after two heavy defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City in their last two matches.

Julen Lopetegui’s side netted in their 4-1 defeat at the Etihad and they do tend to find the net on their travels, which bodes well for a fixture that tends to generate a few goals.

With both teams having scored in nine of the last ten meetings, the best course of action is to back Villa to win while conceding, with a 2-1 home win the correct-score prediction.