Paul Merson has backed West Ham United to beat Unai Emery’s Aston Villa 2-1 at the London Stadium on Sunday, as he told Sportskeeda.
The Sky Sports pundit did add that the game is a ‘pundit’s nightmare’ because the clash can finish 2-1 either way and he wouldn’t be shocked if Villa came away with three points.
Whilst the Midlands outfit are far more comfortable than David Moyes’ men in the Premier League table, the duo are in the same boat, in terms of their inconsistent ways.
One week, West Ham are putting four goals past relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and then they are getting smoked by Brighton and Hove Albion.
As for Villa, they have been stronger on the road than at home, and whilst they can’t stop scoring under Emery, they are still trying to find their feet from a defensive aspect, although, back-to-back clean sheets help massively.
Well, whilst Villa rest up in this March snow, their weekend opponents secured a 2-0 first-leg win over AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, and upon their return to London, Merson thinks another win will be on the cards.
“This is going to be a great contest,” said Merson. “West Ham United beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 a couple of weeks ago. I think that result helped the Hammers paper over the cracks. In that game, all four of their goals came after the 70th minute. They then went and got beaten 4-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion.
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“This is a massive game for David Moyes and Co. West Ham need to keep Moyes in charge. This is a hard game to call. I’d call this a pundit’s nightmare. Either team could win the game 2-1 and you wouldn’t be shocked.
“I’m going to go with West Ham due to their home advantage. But in no way would I be shocked if Villa won the game.”
DANNY INGS AGAINST HIS FORMER CLUB
The 30-year-old could become the first player to score for and against Villa in the same season on Sunday, and given that Ings has five goals against the club he left in January, then everyone knows what’s going to happen.
In truth, Villa could argue that they are favourites here because of their back-to-back wins, recent run on the road and the fact that West Ham are travelling back from a European game.
Depending on what Graham Potter’s Chelsea do away at Leicester City, three points could also see Villa move into the Premier League’s top ten.
In other news, Paul Scholes’ comments on Liverpool duo Gakpo & Nunez before 7-0 win come back to bite him
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