West Ham United v Aston Villa
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 13 March 2022, 2pm
West Ham United return to Premier League action on Sunday, when Aston Villa are the visitors to London Stadium.
David Moyes’ side go into the weekend seeking to end a run of three straight defeats for the first time this season, having lost at Southampton in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round (1-3), Liverpool in the Premier League (0-1) and Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg.
All three games followed a similar pattern, with the Irons more than holding their own but failing to take their chances to score the opening goal and set the tone of the match.
That was certainly not the case at Villa Park in the reverse fixture back on 31 October, when goals from Ben Johnson, Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen secured a thumping 4-1 win for David Moyes’ side.
Since then, Aston Villa have changed their manager, with former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard replacing Dean Smith two weeks after that defeat by the Irons.
West Ham go into gameweek 29 sixth in the table with 45 points, with Arsenal in fourth on 48 and Wolverhampton Wanderers in eighth on 43, meaning the race for European qualification is really hotting up as the business end of the 2021/22 season approaches!
Ticket news
Tickets for Sunday's game are available on the Ticket Exchange. Click here to be at London Stadium this weekend!
Seats are also available on General Sale for our upcoming home Premier League fixtures with Everton and Burnley, while Club London hospitality is available for our otherwise sold-out UEFA Europa League round of 16 second-leg tie against Sevilla on Thursday 17 March.
Click here to watch West Ham United in action live now!
How to follow
Sunday's 2pm kick-off will NOT be broadcast live in the UK, but it will be screened around the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
For details of international coverage of the game, click here.
We will be covering the game live with a blog and audio commentary on whufc.com and our Official App and across our social media channels, with goals, highlights and exclusive reaction to follow after the final whistle.
Update on supporter access to London Stadium
West Ham United can provide an update to supporters on their access to London Stadium for the remainder of the 2021/22 season, following the Government’s easing of COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan B restrictions.
In line with the latest Government guidance, COVID passes will no longer be a condition of entry to Premier League matches.
Supporters will no longer be required to complete a health declaration form before the match, nor present any form of COVID certification on matchday.
West Ham United, the Premier League and its clubs continue to urge fans to follow public health guidance to keep each other safe on a matchday, including wearing face coverings when indoors or in crowded areas.
A Code of Conduct remains in place and is updated to reflect the latest changes in Government and Premier League guidance. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, it is vital supporters continue to do all they can to minimise the risk of passing on COVID
Supporters should note that stadium access processes continue to remain subject to change, in line with changes to COVID protocols or guidance issued by the Government, Premier League and SGSA.
Team news
Jarrod Bowen will miss Sunday's game after suffering a heel injury in the 1-0 Premier League defeat at Liverpool last weekend.
Angelo Ogbonna is also unavailable as he continues his rehabilitation following knee surgery back in November, while Vladimir Coufal is also sidelined as he recovers from a stomach injury.
It remains to be seen if Andriy Yarmolenko is available following his compassionate leave due to the ongoing crisis in his home country of Ukraine.
Aston Villa's only injury concern is Zimbabwe midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, who has a knee problem that will rule him out for the remainder of March.
The opposition – Aston Villa
It will be 40 years since Aston Villa stunned Bayern Munich to win the European Cup and beat Barcelona to lift the European Super Cup.
While a repeat of those magnificent achievements may be unrealistic, at least in the short to medium term, the Lions are seemingly determined to prowl back to into English football’s top den.
It is not as if the Lions have been completely starved of success in the four decades since Peter Withe’s goal devoured Bayern in Rotterdam, winning two EFL Cups and two UEFA Intertoto Cups, twice finishing runners-up in the top-flight and reaching two FA Cup finals, but they have never gone close to being crowned champions of Europe for a second time.
Those successes have been masterminded by some of the most respected managers of the last 40 years, namely Graham Taylor, Ron Atkinson and Martin O’Neill.
Villa fans have also enjoyed watching some of the finest players of the modern era, including England midfielder David Platt (pictured with Taylor, below), Trinidad & Tobago forward Dwight Yorke and, more recently, homegrown captain Jack Grealish.
At the same time, those same supporters have had to endure some real lows, with Villa not finishing the top half of the Premier League table since the 2010/11 season.
Four years of relegation battles were followed by relegation in 2015/16. It took the Birmingham club – ten times champions of England – three years to regain their place in the top tier.
Even then, the Lions had to negotiate a Championship Play-Off final win over Derby County to return to the Premier League, having finished the regular season in fifth.
The manager who led them back to the big time was local lad and lifelong Villa fan Dean Smith, who then helped establish the Birmingham club as a Premier League side again.
Villa stumbled to safety, just, in 2019/20, by drawing at London Stadium on the final day of the season.
Smith then took the Lions to eleventh last season but, following the £100million sale of Grealish to Manchester City in the summer and five consecutive Premier League defeats – including a 4-1 home thumping by West Ham United – he departed in early November.
Into his place has stepped former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard, who controversially left his role at Scottish club Rangers to return to the Premier League.
Results have been mixed under the 41-year-old so far, but any fears of relegation have seemingly been cast aside.
Now, funded by Chairman and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, Gerrard’s challenge is to lead the Lions back to English football’s top den.
Previous meetings
West Ham United are unbeaten in seven Premier League meetings with Aston Villa, winning four, including the last three.
Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen headed the Hammers to a 2-1 win at London Stadium in November 2020, before two goals from debutant Jesse Lingard and one from Tomáš Souček saw David Moyes' men score an impressive 3-1 victory at Villa Park in February this year.
We then won 4-1 at Villa Park in October, when goals from Ben Johnson, Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen rendered Ollie Watkins' first-half equaliser a mere consoltation.
Our biggest Premier League win over Villa was a 4-0 thrashing handed out at the Boleyn Ground on 12 September 2005, when future Villa striker Marlon Harewood helped himself to a hat-trick.
Richard House Children's Hospice
At West Ham United’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa, we will be showing support for our partner charity Richard House Children’s Hospice.
Richard House was the first children’s hospice in London and they have provided care to life-limited children and their families in the community for over 20 years. They are a lifeline to 300 vulnerable families across east London who have needed them more in the past two years than ever before and will continue to need their services in the future.
Richard House Children’s Hospice ensure that children receive the care and families receive the support they need, when and where they need it. They offer respite care, a range of therapies, end of life care and memory making activities, to help families through the hardest moment of their lives. £3 out of every £4 they need to spend, must come from donations.
There are many ways you can support the Hospice and local seriously ill children. Simply go to richardhouse.org.uk.
Match Officials
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referees: James Mainwaring & Daniel Robathan
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Constantine Hatzidakis
Born in Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Jarred Gillett has been officiating in England since arriving on these shores in 2019.
The 35-year-old previously officiated at the highest level in his homeland, taking charge of five A-League Grand Finals and being named the Hyundai A-League Referee of the Year on five occasions.
Gillett initially started his work in England in the EFL in 2019 and became the first non-English or Irish referee to take charge of a Premier League game when he was appointed for the 1-1 draw between Watford and Newcastle United in September 2021.
This will be the first time he has refereed a West Ham United fixture.
