Two teams with major question marks around them face off on Sunday, and Jake Osgathorpe selects his best bets for the game.
Football betting tips: Premier League
2pts Over 2.5 Goals at 13/14 (vbet)
1.5pts Both Teams Over 1.5 Cards at 6/4 (bet365)
Sunday brings a big game for both Aston Villa and West Ham, as neither team - who had high expectations around them - have started well at all.
Villa do have a win under their belt, but have looked really poor in all three games to date.
The Hammers are pointless and goalless through three games, with their defence looking extremely vulnerable currently.
Kick-off time: 14:00 BST, Sunday
Aston Villa 6/5 | Draw 12/5 | West Ham 11/5
Villa's only bright spot so far this term has come in their home win over Everton, where they generated 2.37 xGF - though it is a concern that they also shipped chances equating to 2.01 xGA against one of the worst attacking teams in the league.
West Ham have been really poor at home in their two games this season, with their best display coming on the road at Nottingham Forest where they racked up 2.65 xGF - though they also allowed 2.19 xGA on that occasion.
Both teams have plenty of attacking talent to call upon, and the verdict is that the attacking talent - plus the need for a win - could lead to the vulnerable defences on show to be exposed, making OVER 2.5 GOALS the headline selection.
Across their last eight league games, Steven Gerrard's side have allowed an average of 1.97 xGA per game, failing to keep a clean sheet in that time, with Over 2.5 landing in five of those matches.
As for West Ham, they have shipped an average of 1.84 xGA per game over their last 10 league games, keeping just one clean sheet (v Norwich).
It is clear that for both teams, attack is their best asset, so we could be in for a ding-dong battle on Sunday.
Another bet that piques the interest is a card based one due to the appointment of David Coote.
Last season Coote averaged 4.65 yellow cards per Premier League game while also dishing two reds.
This season he has overseen just one top flight game which was a walkover victory for Manchester City against Bournemouth and still flashed three yellows.
He is a good appointment what could be a feisty, end-to-end game between two teams desperate for a positive result.
We could see some needle here, with Villa a high-card team - they averaged 2.12 cards per game last season - and a West Ham team who will grow with frustration if the result isn't going their way.
The Hammers collected two cautions last weekend against Brighton, while Villa have already been flashed three at Bournemouth and four at home to Everton.
Chancing BOTH TEAMS OVER 1.5 CARDS looks worthwhile in this game, with the selection landing in the last head-to-head at Villa Park.
At the time of publish, only bet365 and BetVictor have this market priced up, with 365's 6/4 a decent price for this wager.
Aston Villa v West Ham best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Over 2.5 Goals at 13/14 (vbet)
- 1.5pts Both Teams 20+ Booking Points at 6/4 (bet365)
Score prediction: Aston Villa 2-2 West Ham (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Odds correct at 1200 BST (25/08/22)
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