Mark Lawrenson predicts result of West Ham v Aston Villa
West Ham will play host to Aston Villa on Sunday (13 March) when they meet in the Premier League at the London Stadium.
David Moyes’ side has picked up only one win in their last six games and lost three games in a row in all competitions.
The Hammers were unlucky in the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool last week, and Mark Lawrenson doesn’t see them picking up a victory against Villa.
Lawrenson said while predicting a 1-1 draw for the Hammers, as quoted on the BBC Sport Website: “West Ham’s top-four hopes have been dented by their recent results – they have only won one of their past four league games – but they actually played well at Anfield last weekend and were very unlucky to lose.
“The Hammers’ squad isn’t strong enough to rotate properly so they really miss certain players when they are out, but they will have Declan Rice back in their side on Sunday, which is a boost.
“This should be a really good contest, because both teams will think they can win it.”
Must win
This is getting really tough for the Hammers at the moment.
The Londoners have lost back-to-back games in the league, away from home, but they can take pride in their recent performances.
West Ham played well in the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool, and they could have won the game had they been more clinical.
The big loss from that game was the injury to Jarrod Bowen.
The 25-year-old has been in phenomenal form this season, managing 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions.
He has undergone scans on his bruised heel, and he is unlikely to take any part on Sunday.
Aston Villa are in good form at the moment, and Steven Gerrard has transformed the side completely. It won’t be easy against them.
Declan Rice returned against Sevilla and he is expected to start against Villa, which is indeed a huge boost.
With the big second leg against Sevilla to follow next, it remains to be seen if the Hammers can raise their level this weekend.
In other West Ham news, ‘Serious’ – Ian Abrahams shares major West Ham injury update, ‘Miracle’ doctor needed