Paul Merson predicts upset in West Ham United showdown v Aston Villa
Paul Merson has backed Aston Villa to beat West Ham United on Sunday afternoon at the London Stadium.
The Sky Sports pundit has predicted that it will finish 2-1 to the away side in what is described as an “upset.”
West Ham have seen this game sandwiched by their Europa League knockout ties with Sevilla, something that could take priority.
Writing in his Sportskeeda column this week, Merson singled out Philippe Coutinho as the main man to watch.
“Aston Villa are playing really well at the moment,” he said. “Philippe Coutinho’s hit the ground running in the Premier League, and he’s settled quicker than snow. He’s putting himself in the shop window in the transfer market.
“This is a big game. Three weeks ago, you’d think this is a give-me game for West Ham. But Villa are in a real vein of form now, and they’ve done well under Steven Gerrard.
“West Ham will probably have one eye on their game against Sevilla, and I’m going to back Aston Villa to pull off a bit of an upset here.”
Different.
Coutinho has run the show in recent weeks, but there is a big reason behind that success for the Brazilian.
Playing against Brighton, Southampton and a depleted Leeds, the South American has had so much freedom with no real challenge across from him in central midfield.
What will he do when Declan Rice doesn’t let him breathe for one single second, and starts to out-run him off and on the ball?
Steven Gerrard knows that the competition will go up some levels at the London Stadium, with our defence much better than those Villa have seen in recent weeks.
Should that take care of itself, Antonio has had a field day bullying the likes of Tyrone Mings in recent meetings, and we expect that to happen again.
Stay strong at the back, and this could be another three points.
In other West Ham United, this player could be out until the final days of the season after a big injury development – ExWHUemployee
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