West Ham United, by virtue of their draw at Manchester United last night, have secured safety in the top flight for next season. Although it wasn’t convincing, and it went down to nearly the end of the season, manager David Moyes accomplished exactly what he was tasked to do.
As for their opponents on Championship Sunday, Aston Villa, it’s a totally different story. The Villans scored a surprising win over Arsenal, and now find themselves temporarily out of the drop zone on goal differential. In order to stay there, they must achieve a better result than both Watford and Bournemouth this weekend.
The intrigue doesn’t stop there however, Villa can win and still get relegated. How? Watford are only one goal behind Villa on goal differential, so if both sides win, but Villa beat Arsenal by a scoreline that puts them +2 on AVFC on the day, well, the Hornets will survive instead.
Moyes could play his strongest potential lineup here in order to finish the season with a victory. He has no new injury concerns to speak of. We also might see some reserves and youth get a little playing time here as well.
For Villa, Ahmed Elmohamady left the win over Arsenal with a hamstring injury but Frederic Guilbert deputized well. Wesley and Tom Heaton remain out long term.
Aston Villa at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: 11am ET, 4pm BST Sunday, July 26, Olympic Stadium, London
TV, streams: NBCSN, NBCSports.com
Odds: Draw +245, Aston Villa +123, West Ham United +220
Position: West Ham United 38 points, 15th Aston Villa 34 points, 17th
Prediction: West Ham 2, Aston Villa 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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