Chris Sutton shares ‘disaster’ verdict in Aston Villa v West Ham prediction

Chris Sutton has predicted West Ham to lose against Aston Villa on Sunday as he labelled Graham Potter’s side as “jammy”.

Potter’s first game as Hammers boss was against Aston Villa in the FA Cup where his side lost 2-1 so the boss will be keen to seek some revenge for that result.

Furthermore, after losing 2-0 against Crystal Palace on Saturday (18 January) with 10 men, the Irons could certainly use a boost.

However, Sutton is not backing Potter’s side to get a result as he wrote on BBC Sport (23 January): “Aston Villa are eighth in the Premier League and ninth in the Champions League, so their season is hardly a disaster – they just look a little bit flat at times.

“Seriously, though, this is a crucial time in Villa’s season and I think they will get past West Ham.

“Graham Potter’s side were jammy when they beat Fulham last week, but I don’t see them being lucky enough to beat Villa. Prediction 2-1.”

Graham Potter needs to bring new faces to West Ham

There is plenty of work for the 49-year-old to do if he going to turn the Irons’ fortunes around in the remainder of the campaign after they have struggled in the season so far.

Nevertheless, this will no doubt be a longer project at The London Stadium as it will take Potter time to put his stamp on the side as someone who is very different from his predecessor.

Therefore, the new manager will be eager to bring new faces in during the winter transfer window to give him the ability to start making changes.

Graham Potter on the sidelines for West Ham
Credit: Imago

That being said, resources in East London are limited after a lot of money was spent in the summer meaning Potter will have to be smart in his business.

Although a defeat against Villa wouldn’t be the end of the world, you can imagine that the manager would like a result to lift the momentum inside the camp.

In other West Ham news, Lopetegui has been linked with a high-profile international job.

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