Aston Villa vs West Ham Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips: Two bets for Friday's FA Cup clash

Friday evening sees an all Premier League tie in the third round of the FA Cup as Aston Villa entertain West Ham at Villa Park. Both sides are performing below expectations in the league this season, so the cup provides a welcome distraction from their mixed league form.

Olie Nixon has previewed the match and supplied his best bets.

Villa will be hopeful that cup specialist Unai Emery can overcome their FA Cup hoodoo as they’ve only made it to the fourth round once since 2016. That form includes losses at this stage to Peterborough United and Stevenage and so there won’t be many Villa fans taking West Ham for granted.

West Ham have had a tumultuous time of their own, with consecutive heavy defeats to Liverpool and Man City the straw that broke Julen Lopetegui’s back as the Spaniard has finally been given the bullet after it had long been rumoured alongside the Hammers not-so-subtle courting of Graham Potter, who has now been confirmed as manager. The London side suffered a shock at this stage last season, being beaten by Championship side Bristol City and so will be keen to avenge that defeat.

Right back Matty Cash has consistently got stuck in across his career resulting in plenty of tackles and fouls. The Pole is one of Villa’s most prolific tacklers, averaging 2.81 per 90 this season, making two or more in each of his last eight starts. He’s also committed 1.48 fouls per 90 and has attracted the referee’s attention 12 times across those eight games. In the league meeting between these sides back in August, Cash made three tackles and three fouls, landing this bet with ease.

In that game, Cash was up against Mohammed Kudus who he will likely face again in this tie. The Ghanian is one of the trickiest wingers in the division, drawing 1.92 fouls and 1.56 tackles per 90 this season. He’s been fouled nine times in his two starts against Aston Villa and dispossessed seven times and so Unai Emery clearly has him tightly marked.

Ezri Konsa is one of the most fouled centre backs in the Premier League, drawing 1.54 fouls per 90 this season. He’s been fouled two or more times in seven of his last 14 starts in all competitions and in head-to-heads against Aston Villa, he’s drawn seven fouls in his last three.

The key to this bet is that with Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio out injured, Konsa will be marking the physical Niclas Fullkrug. The German international has struggled for minutes this season but when he has been on the pitch, he’s made plenty of fouls. He’s averaging 2.24 fouls per 90 and has made at least two fouls in three of his four starts this season. Since replacing Bowen, he’s made six fouls in just 259 minutes of action, demonstrating how keen he is to get stuck in and earn his spot in the starting line-up.

Aston Villa vs West Ham Lineups

The starting lineups for Aston Villa vs West Ham will be displayed in the graphic below once the team news has been announced.