Since beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in November, West Ham have failed to win any of their four league games in 2023.
Their only point in that four-game period came courtesy of a hard-earned goalless draw against title hopefuls Arsenal.
The Hammers looked set to pick up another point in their away meeting with Reading last weekend when Vivianne Asseyi cancelled out Charlie Wellings’s opener, but Rachel Rowe’s 85th-minute winner ensured that West Ham returned to the capital empty-handed.
West Ham are aiming to finish in the top half for a second straight season, and they remain in seventh position with three points separating them from sixth-placed Everton, who have played a game more.
Paul Konchesky’s side lost on penalties to Aston Villa when the two sides met in the FA Cup last month, but they do have the chance to complete a league double over the Villans after winning the reverse fixture 2-1 in September.
Aston Villa strengthened their side in the January transfer window, signing the likes of Jordan Nobbsand Lucy Staniforth, and those additions have helped Carla Ward’s side embark on a five-game unbeaten league run.
In their most recent outing, Aston Villa recorded a 2-0 away victory over Everton thanks to a fifth-minute strike from Kenza Dali and Megan Finnigan’s second-half own goal.
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Having achieved consecutive league wins, fifth-placed Aston Villa appear to be on course to achieve a top-half finish, which would represent an improvement on last season when they finished in ninth position.
In fact, they have already picked up two more points this term than they collected in the entirety of their 2021-22 campaign.
If the visitors can score the first goal on Sunday, they will be confident of adding three more points to their tally as they have won all three away league games this season where they have opened the scoring.
