Aston Villa vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Villa Park.
Follow the game with our live blog on Sky Sports website and app; watch free match highlights shortly after full-time on Sky Sports' digital platforms and YouTube channel
Wednesday 3 February 2021 23:16, UK
Team news and stats ahead of Aston Villa vs West Ham in the Premier League on Tuesday; kick-off 8.15pm.
Aston Villa have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's clash with West Ham.
Defender Kortney Hause, not involved for the last four games due to a foot problem, has been ruled out for "at least four to six weeks", boss Dean Smith has said.
Wesley (knee) also remains unavailable. New signing Morgan Sanson could make his debut, having been an unused substitute for the 1-0 win at Southampton on Saturday.
Jesse Lingard is eligible to make his West Ham bow after he was not registered in time to feature in Sunday's home defeat to Liverpool.
The Manchester United loanee is expected to be on the bench and boss David Moyes will also have Michail Antonio available despite initial concern following his late withdrawal at the weekend.
Defender Arthur Masuaku is a long-term absentee after knee surgery last month, while goalkeeper Darren Randolph is still working his way back to fitness after a recent knock in training.
Follow the game in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Some of my best work is based on plagiarising other people's ideas, and odds compiler Mark Stinchcombe perfectly summed up my feelings on Twitter about many Premier League teams this week. He pointed out that this league is filled with very defensively-minded teams playing conservative football that rely on fine margins for success. For example, West Ham have been on the right side of these margins more often than not this season, hence their inflated league position.
In reality, there is not much between the likes of the Hammers, Everton and a whole host of teams, and I'd include bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United in that bracket.
Of all the so-called surprise packages this season threatening a European charge, the only team that have backed up their league position with performances, both according to the eye and the data, is Aston Villa. They will stick around in the hunt.
And, they are more than equipped to get past West Ham without much fuss. Yes, West Ham won the reverse fixture 2-1 but were flattered that day, registering just five shots on goal in an expected goal figure of just 0.52 against Villa's 2.62.
I'm all over the home win at odds-against.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
There's no such thing as January blues at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola's side win nine out of nine, helped by the wall that is Ruben Dias. Has his impact been bigger than Virgil van Dijk's at Liverpool?
In the latest Pitch to Post Review show, Jasper Taylor is joined by Kate Burlaga and Gerard Brand to discuss just that, as well as another goalless draw for Manchester United against a so-called big six side (20:05). Is their title tilt over before it began? And what is success for Arsenal this season?
In part three we focus on Newcastle after their shock 2-0 win at Everton (33:39), masterminded by Graeme, sorry, Steve, erm... well, we figure out exactly who deserves the credit.
And in part four we look back on a good week for Liverpool and a bad week for Jose Mourinho's Spurs (43:51), plus the performers, performances and goals of the week.
Subscribe to the podcast on your chosen provider
