Aston Villa v West Ham United
Premier League, Villa Park, Sunday 22 October 2023, 4.30pm BST
West Ham United return to Premier League action with a visit to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
David Moyes’ Hammers come back from the October international break to a trip up the M1 and M6 to Villa Park to face a Villa side that, under Unai Emery, has thrived in the top flight.
The Birmingham-based club sit fifth in the Premier League on 16 points from eight matches played so far, and are enjoying a return to European competition after qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League last season.
The Irons, meanwhile, head into Sunday’s match in seventh, on 14 points, after a competitive 2-2 draw against Newcastle United last time out.
Tickets…
Fans are advised that West Ham United's allocation of 3,005 tickets have sold out for this fixture.
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 19+ Loyalty Points. The remaining ten per cent (300 tickets) were then made available via a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. The ballot closed at 12pm on Tuesday 26 September.
Travel…
The address for your sat nav is Villa Park, Trinity Rd, Birmingham, B6 6HE. However, there is next to no parking available at the ground and a traffic exclusion zone is imposed around the stadium on matchdays from two hours prior to kick-off until up to 60 minutes after the final whistle.
Official parking is available at Aston Social Club in Aston Hall Road (postcode B6 7JU) and Powerleague Birmingham in Lichfield Road (postcode B6 7TG).
Any supporters with accessibility requirements should contact our Disabled Liaison Officer on 0333 323 1874 for information on disabled parking. Parking needs to be booked in advance of the match.
For those travelling by train, the nearest stations are Witton and Aston, both of which are on lines from Birmingham New Street. Direct trains from London Euston to New Street leave at 11.52, 12.39, 13.09, 13.39 and 14.15. After the game, direct services leave New Street at 18.47, 19.21 and 19.47.
How To Follow…
Sunday afternoon's Premier League game will be broadcast live on television in the UK by Sky Sports on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. It will also be shown across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live and worldwide on whufc.com and our official app.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Team News…
Manager David Moyes will be hoping that his eleven players who went away on senior international duty during the October break will all return to Rush Green without knocks or niggles ahead of a return to Premier League action.
Michail Antonio overcame an adductor issue and was able to start in the home draw with Newcastle at the start of October, but Aaron Cresswell (hamstring) and Ben Johnson (groin) were still absent due to injury prior to the internationals.
Villa, meanwhile, will definitely be without England centre-back Tyrone Mings and Argentinian playmaker Emiliano Buendia, with both anticipated to miss most of the 2023/24 campaign due to long-term injuries.
Left-back Àlex Moreno is also absent with a hamstring problem.
Jacob Ramsey has suffered a recurrence of a foot injury, and it remains to be seen if the midfielder will be fit enough for a return to action on Sunday.
Opposition…
It has almost been a year of Unai Emery at Aston Villa, and it has been a 12 months that has exceeded almost all expectations.
Appointed on 24 October 2022 as manager, replacing Steven Gerrard in the hotseat, Emery joined a Villa side that was sat two places and just one point above the Premier League relegation zone.
Heading into Sunday’s match, Villa sit fifth in the Premier League, have European nights back at Villa Park and are making eyes on the Champions League places in the top flight table.
In his 33 Premier League matches in charge of Aston Villa, Emery has overseen 20 wins and five draws, with 65 points won from 99 up for grabs. Taking the side up to seventh last season was beyond even the most optimistic Villa fan’s dreams, with the team qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Not content to rest on their laurels, Villa have recruited smartly in a bid to establish themselves as a top contender in the Premier League. Belgian international Youri Tielemans joined from Leicester City before the acquisition of Spain defender Pau Torres and France winger Moussa Diaby from Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.
The loans of Italian forward Nicolò Zaniolo and defender Clément Lenglet completed a productive summer transfer window for the Birmingham-based side, who are certainly looking up rather than down after recent results.
Big wins over Everton, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion have put Emery’s squad in good shape. With three home games to come in the coming run of matches, starting with Sunday against West Ham United, Villa will be optimistic of even more positive results in the weeks to come.
Previous Meetings…
West Ham United are unbeaten in our last five visits to Villa Park in the Premier League, winning the most recent three by 1-0, 4-1 and 3-1 scorelines.
Pablo Fornals got the only goal at Villa Park last season, and also netted in the 4-1 in the previous campaign in which Ben Johnson, Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen also scored.
We also won 2-0 there in the Premier League in February 2014, when current first-team coach Kevin Nolan eased the Irons’ relegation fears with a double strike.
Our best-ever result at Villa Park was a 5-1 First Division victory scored in April 1927, when Vic Watson (two), Stan Earle, Joseph Johnson and Jimmy Ruffell shared the visitors’ goals.
Overall, our biggest top-flight win over Villa came in August 1958, when Ted Fenton’s newly promoted Hammers thrashed their opponents 7-2 in the First Division at the Boleyn Ground, where Vic Keeble, John Dick and Malcolm Musgrove each scored twice.
Match Officials...
Referee: David Coote
Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis and Mark Scholes
Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
The referee West Ham United's Premier League game at Aston Villa on Sunday will be David Coote.
Affiliated to the Nottinghamshire FA, Coote began refereeing at the age of 16 and worked his way up through the Notts Alliance League, Northern Counties East Football League, the Northern Premier League and the Conference North.
He was promoted to the Football League List of assistant referees in 2006, and again to the referees’ list in 2010. Coote refereed the 2014 League One Play-Off final at Wembley, which saw Rotherham United defeat Leyton Orient.
The official, whose father played cricket for Nottinghamshire, was appointed to the Select Group of Premier League officials in the summer of 2018.
He will take charge of a Hammers match for the first time this season on Sunday, and last refereed David Moyes' men when we hosted Arsenal at London Stadium in April.
On that occasion he awarded a penalty to each team as the Hammers came from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw against Mikel Arteta's title-chasers.
He has taken charge of eleven West Ham matches in total, with the Irons having won two of them - including last season's 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
For more information, click through here.
Premier League guidance...
Thoughts are with the innocent civilians who have lost their lives, and all the communities impacted by the ongoing crisis in Israel and Gaza.
As a mark of respect for all those affected, players, managers and match officials are wearing black armbands at Premier League fixtures this weekend, and there will be a moment’s silence.
The safety of all those attending matches is a priority. Following the Premier League’s consultation with safety and security experts, clubs, football partners and external stakeholders, supporters attending matches will not be permitted to bring Israeli and Palestinian flags into Premier League stadiums for the foreseeable future.
