‘Frustrated’ – Michael Owen predicts result of West Ham clash v Aston Villa
Michael Owen says David Moyes will be ‘frustrated’ by the last two West Ham results, and expects a close game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Hammers suffered 1-0 defeats to both Liverpool and Sevilla in their recent outings, but missed big chances in both games to earn positive results.
Now they’ll come up against an in-form Villa side at the London Stadium and while Owen admits he’s curious to see the Irons’ response to their poor results, he told BetVictor that he expects a 1-1 draw from the game.
“West Ham’s last two defeats, to Liverpool and Sevilla, must have frustrated David Moyes,” he said. “They were both 1-0 defeats, and they had chances in both games. I’ll be curious to see how they respond here.
“Villa have found some form. Three wins in a row, nine goals scored, and none conceded. The star of the show has obviously been Coutinho.
“I expected him to play well for Villa, but I didn’t expect this much of an impact. Villa will be desperate to make this a permanent signing.
“There’s really not much between these two. I’m going for a 1-1 draw.”
Evenly matched
Outside of the ‘big six’ these are two of the strongest squads in the Premier League and they should provide great entertainment when they go head-to-head.
Villa have been excellent after a rocky patch under Steven Gerrard, but Moyes is vastly experienced and knows what it takes to get a result in these games.
The absence of Jarrod Bowen is a huge blow for the home side, and their midweek clash with Sevilla in the second leg of the Europa League last 16 is likely to be on the team’s mind too.
That means they may not have 100 percent focus on the game which will open them up to problems. Their failure to score goals in recent weeks is a problem too, especially against Villa’s in-form defence.
A draw is probably a fair prediction, but it will likely end the side’s hopes of a top four finish which means all eggs will go into the Europa League basket for midweek.
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