Both Teams To Score

Last season’s Premier League season saw a huge increase in the amount of goals scored. There was an average of 3.28 goals per game last season, a huge increase on the average of 2.85 in the previous campaign. There were more goals in the top tier of English football than in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Let’s hope this season brings similar levels of entertainment.

Recent meetings between West Ham and Aston Villa have also seen plenty of goals. Both teams have found the net in eight of the last nine meetings between the teams. Those matches have seen an average of three goals per game.

West Ham’s style has undoubtedly changed in the early stages of Julen Lopetegui’s tenure but we can still expect goals. Both teams have scored in four of their five pre-season games and those have seen 3.4 goals on average. 

The Villains have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven Premier League games on the road. Those matches have seen an average of 3.29 goals. 

Over 10.5 Corners

West Ham’s matches in the league last season saw an average of 10.55 corners per game so we are backing over 10.5 here.

The Hammers drew 1-1 with Aston Villa at the London Stadium in March and the match saw a whopping 17 corners. The reverse fixture in the midlands also comfortably exceeded this corner line. There were 15 corners in that one as Aston Villa ran out 4-1 winners. 

Over 1.5 Fouls For Tomas Soucek

Aston Villa were the most fouled team in the Premier League last season, forcing an average of 13.37 fouls per game from their opponents. The league average was just 10.78, so it’s safe to say that Unai Emery’s side are adept at drawing fouls. 

West Ham’s average of 9.53 fouls per game was the third-fewest in the Premier League but this didn’t ring true when they went toe-to-toe with Aston Villa. The Hammers made 15 and 13 fouls respectively in their clashes with Emery’s side. 

Tomas Soucek is the player we have singled out to make the fouls in this game. Lopetegui is set to deploy him in a similar role to the one he performed when West Ham hosted Villa last season. Soucek was heavily involved, being fouled on three occasions but more importantly, committing two fouls.

Soucek made the second most fouls in the West Ham team last season with 41. This works out as 1.29 fouls per 90 minutes played in the league. This is just below the line on this bet but facing Aston Villa should be enough to inflate those numbers.