When Aston Villa and West Ham square off in a crucial Premier League match on Sunday at the London Stadium, both teams will need to bounce back swiftly from their successful European evenings.
After early goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey in the first and second halves, Villa easily defeated 10-man Ajax 4-0. After a scoreless first leg between the two teams in the Netherlands, the victory guaranteed their spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Meanwhile, Mohammed Kudus put things beyond reach with a late brace to help West Ham (12-9-7, 43 points) defeat SC Freiburg 5-0 and advance to the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
And even though the physical demands of each game might not have been the greatest, emotionally turning the page is still a challenging endeavor.
“My objective is to recover with the players and prepare as best as possible the match on Sunday and to be competitive on Sunday because the only way to win there is being competitive,” Villa manager Unai Emery said. “I also need to be clinical in every decision I take tactically.”
Both teams have everything to gain in the league if they hope to qualify for Europe the next season, even if they both advanced easily in their European competitions. After Spurs’ 4-0 victory at Villa Park last weekend, Villa is now just two points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the fourth and final UEFA Champions League spot. While Villa still has games against all three of the top teams in the table, Spurs also head into the weekend with a match in hand.
“They’re a very good side and the manager is doing a brilliant job there,” West Ham manager David Moyes said of Emery’s team. “He’s now got them into a quarterfinal of the Europa Conference League, which is a great achievement, and they are knocking on the door of Champions League football too.”
In the meantime, West Ham has begun the battle for a third straight European season undefeated in the last three league games. After a terrible run of eight games in all competitions without a win, they were back to their best when attacking midfielder Lucas Paqueta returned from injury. The Hammers start the seventh weekend of a campaign that has the potential to see at least the top eight league finishers earn a spot in a UEFA competition. Furthermore, with the game effectively in hand, Paqueta ought to be sufficiently rested following his exit on Thursday shortly after the hour-mark.