West Ham and Aston Villa combined for nearly 30 shots but the hosts will feel aggrieved not to have found a winner in a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Ollie Watkins put Villa in front with an industrious and clever header of an Alex Moreno cross, but Said Benrahma made the most of a silly Leon Bailey foul to set the game level from the penalty spot.
After being hammered 4-0 at Brighton last weekend, West Ham’s fans vented their anger as their talented squad sits just one point above the relegation zone with 13 games to go but they’ll have to acknowledge the proper responses on Thursday in the Europa League as well as Sunday vs the Villans.
West Ham sits 17th, out of the bottom three on goal differential.
Unai Emery has done a fine job to turn things around at Villa, but they needed to hang on for their point in London on Sunday. Villa exits the game in 11th with 35 points.
Let’s focus on the hosts here, because it seems fairly certain that Aston Villa have a good manager now and they will neither be going down to the Championship nor rising into Europe for next season.
West Ham has no business being near the bottom three, but here David Moyes’ men stand after another performance on the upside of their up-and-down campaign.
How did they not win this? Yes, Michail Antonio was out and the Irons needed a penalty to get their point, but the xG battle was very much in their favor.
Danny Ings was not at his best up top and Jarrod Bowen seemed to be focused on taking one touch too many nearly every time the ball came his way, but West Ham’s season failings really feel more about luck and bounces more than performances on the whole.
That will mean very little if the Irons manage to go down, but it still doesn’t feel like that’s a real danger, does it? Bueller?
West Ham vs Aston Villa player ratings: Stars of the Show
Ollie Watkins: Just outside the Premier League’s top 10 in goal contributions, the busy striker is a deserving Man of the Match.
Said Benrahma: An ever-present threat, he will be happy with his penalty but likely rue a near-post chance that went begging in the early stages of the match.
John McGinn: Busy as usual. He’s finally back at his best after a few wayward months, and Unai Emery has a good mind to help McGinn stay near the top of his game.
West Ham’s home Thursday, holding a 2-0 lead over AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League’s Round of 16. They’ll then wait through an international break for their next Premier League match, a huge April 2 visit from Southampton.
Villa welcomes Bournemouth to Villa Park at 11am ET Saturday.
Said Benrahma goal video: Algerian converts Paqueta-won penalty
How to watch West Ham vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Sunday TV Channel: USA Network Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
The Hammers have won just three of their last 16 Premier League games and are struggling for consistency after recording back-to-back victories just once all season long. That was back at the start of October. Moyes has tried to many combinations of players in attack but nothing seems to be clicking. Declan Rice is doing his best to drive them on from midfield but defensive mistakes behind him are costing West Ham big time.
Villa look solid, dependable and are really dangerous on the counter attack. Emery has set them out to get the ball wide when they can and Ollie Watkins has been popping up in key areas centrally and has scored five goals in his last six games. Emiliano Martinez has been excellent in goal, while Tyrone Mings is also back to his best at the back. Losing Boubacar Kamara to injury is a blow as his form alongside Douglas Luiz is a big reason behind Villa’s upturn in results.
West Ham team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Lukasz Fabianski (face), Vladimir Coufal (heel), Michail Antonio (calf)
Brighton appeared to be playing an entirely different sport altogether as the Seagulls beat, bruised and batter West Ham in a 4-0 victory at Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The victory sends Brighton (38 points – 8th place) to within one point of 6th-place Liverpool and 7th-place Fulham (with one and two games in hand, respectively) as Roberto De Zerbi’s side chases European qualification while playing some of the most sumptuous, swash-buckling football the Premier League has seen.
West Ham (23 points), meanwhile, remain 16th in the Premier League table only due to the fact that Leeds (22 points – 17th place) were also beaten on Saturday. Two points is all that separates David Moyes’ side from the relegation zone, with 18th-place Everton still to play on Sunday.
Brighton broke the deadlock in the 18th minute after Kaoru Mitoma weaved his way inside the penalty area and cut across Jarod Bowen, enticing just enough contact to go to ground and draw the whistle. Alexis Mac Allister stepped to the spot and lashed the ball past Alphonse Areola, who went the right way but but still had no chance against such power and precision.
West Ham gifted goal no. 2 with an incredibly poor display of set-piece defending on 51 minutes. Solly March’s corner kick came in to the near post, headed on by Mac Allister to an unmarked Joel Veltman at the back post, all by his lonesome inside the six-yard box. Veltman chested the bouncing ball home to double the lead.
You won’t see many (any?) more lopsided games than this one all season. Down 1-0 at halftime, West Ham “chased” an equalizer to the tune of 0.0 xG (on zero shots) in the second half.
Putrid. Abject. Relegation form.
Stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
What’s next?
Brighton will be back in action when they visit Leeds next Saturday (10 am ET), while West Ham will head to Cyprus to face AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League round of 16 (first leg) on Thursday before hosting Aston Villa in east London on Sunday (10 am ET).
How to watch Brighton vs West Ham live, stream link and start time
Liverpool and Chelsea couldn’t figure out the goals, Leeds United and West Ham delivered huge wins, and Arsenal and Man City took different paths to finishing the weekend just as they started it.
Along the way we had gorgeous goals that counted — Hello, Declan Rice — gorgeous goals that didn’t — Hello, Leandro Trossard — and Man City doing its best to only score goals as close to the line as possible.
Again, what did we learn from the Premier League this weekend? Here’s where our writers are living, as Joe Prince-Wright (JPW), Andy Edwards (AE), and Nicholas Mendola (NM) share their observations from across the most recent PL games.
10 things we learned in the Premier League: Week 25
1. Chelsea’s attackers heaping pressure on everyone else in blue (Spurs 2-0 Chelsea):Chelsea not only lacks Harry Kane but right now the Blues would probably accept any number of finishers they’ve sold or watched walk away over the years. Because Chelsea… just… isn’t… scoring. Kai Havertz scored in the 64th minute of Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Palace on Jan. 15. He’s since scored zero goals in 493 minutes. Hakim Ziyech has a single assist in 10 Chelsea appearances since the calendar turned to 2023. Raheem Sterling hasn’t scored since New Year’s Day and Joao Felix has one goal. Both are on limited minutes but it bears repeating that Chelsea’s biggest problem — by far — is that their forwards aren’t scoring. And only Felix is showing glimpses that he may find his footing. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana… all nothing. So it doesn’t matter if Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, Thiago Silva, and Co. are all doing their jobs well if Graham Potter’s men are not getting goals. Simple game sometimes, this one (NM).
2. Jorginho – Just what Dr. Arteta ordered (Leicester 0-1 Arsenal): The Gunners only took 10 shots but did not register a full xG on the day and really struggled to find answers through anyone but Leandro Trossard, as even the mighty Martin Odegaard had an off day. What should resonate with Gooners from the day, however, is just how good Jorginho looked again, the right fit for a Mikel Arteta game in which the gaffer knew his men would have a lot of the ball. Granit Xhaka will be looking over his shoulder — he may already be given Arteta’s glowing praise of Fabio Vieira — as Thomas Partey is back in contention to start and a Partey-Jorginho pairing might just give the Gunners license to play the duo along with two center backs, a keeper, and six forwards against some sides. We’re barely kidding. (NM)
3. Bournemouth vs Man City is a really, really bad match-up for the Cherries (AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Man City): Bournemouth’s attack has looked a lot better of late, and Dango Ouattara is either going to help the Cherries stay up or he’s going to be on another Premier League team next season. But City came into the game overdue to finish plenty of the chances it produces, and the defending champiowas essentially rifling through Bournemouth’s pockets with its shots deep in the Cherries’ box. Yeah this does make for a short recap: If Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, and Ilkay Gundogan show up as lively as they did against a bottom-half Premier League side — home or away — it’s only going to go one way, 99 times out of 100. (NM)
4. Liverpool’s questions are many, answers are few (Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool): The Reds’ midfield of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, and Naby Keita has a collective veteran nature and was well-suited to play a “no letdowns” sort of game, but Cheick Doucoure would’ve shown Liverpool what it was missing in an all-action, nearing-his-prime midfielder. And while injuries can’t often be an excuse for a club that’s spent as much as Liverpool, especially when Palace was missing Wilfried Zaha, the Reds could not deploy Thiago Alcantara, Darwin Nunez, and Ibrahima Konate amongst others. That’s a big ask. Liverpool should get Nunez back soon and Arthur Melo is finally nearing a return. There’s still plenty of hope for a top-four finish, but Saturday was a big miss even given the loud, wild nature of Selhurst Park. (NM)
5. David Moyes back from the brink… again (West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest): Seemingly every time West Ham takes the field these days, David Moyes has perhaps picked the West Ham team for the final time. Heading into Matchweek 25, reports from all over hinted that Moyes could be fired if the Hammers lost again. They didn’t! West Ham remain the only side in the Premier League’s bottom-six yet to make a managerial change this season, as Moyes has once again tempted fate and escaped unemployment. From Crystal Palace (26 points) to Bournemouth in 19th (21 points), eight sides are currently separated by five points.(AE)
6. Spurs looking very Conte, even without Conte (Spurs 2-0 Chelsea): Antonio Conte’s men are not just without Rodrigo Betancur, they’re without Conte — in person — as the Italian continues to recover from an operation. But that has not stopped Spurs from playing in his image, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cristian Romero are among the players making sure Tottenham is taking the fight to opponents. The biggest difference between Spurs and their would-be rivals, like Chelsea, however, is that Tottenham has an absolute horse in Harry Kane and he’s putting the team on his back. Harry Kane has gone 90 minutes 14 times in Tottenham’s 14 games since returning from the World Cup break, scoring seven goals and an assist. Tottenham is unbeaten when he gets on the score sheet. If you can, keep a era-defining striker on your books, yeah? (NM)
7. Small margins determine relegation scrap as Everton falls at home (Everton 0-2 Aston Villa): The game sprang to life not long after the restart. Everton was denied an opening goal in truly spectacular fashion on 55 minutes when Alex Iwobi’s initial shot was headed well wide of goal but came back into play after hitting Ezri Konsa, who was laid flat on the ground on the end line. The ball found its way to Neal Maupay, who headed it goalward, only for Tyrone Mings to sprint across goal and boot it clear. Phew, right? Five minutes later, roles were reversed as Jordan Pickford went full-stretch (and then some) to get a fingernail on Ollie Watkins’ header, pushing it onto the inside of the post but by no means clear. As it bounced back across the face of goal, James Tarkowski rushed onto the scene and hoofed it away. Three minutes after that exchange of goal-line clearances, Idrissa Gueye needlessly slid in and cut down John McGinn to give Aston Villa a penalty, and that was that. (AE)
8. Javi Gracia outfoxes Ruben Selles to make all the difference in huge six-pointer (Leeds 1-0 Southampton): What a start for new Leeds boss Javi Gracia in a tight, tense game. His substitutes made the difference, but Southampton’s new boss had no such luck. Ruben Selles made a triple switch and it didn’t work out for Saints. This win feels like it can be the one to reignite Leeds’ season and keep them above the relegation zone. Leeds always looked the more likely to break through and Jack Harrison summed up their spirit and determination as he set up the winner and Leeds held on easily to grind out a massive win. Leeds were also solid defensively and that’s going to be key; The USMNT duo of Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams created a great shield in front of the back four and Brenden Aaronson was back buzzing around in attack as all three started in the PL together for the first time. Leeds have a 100 percent winning record when the USMNT trio start together in the Premier League… (JPW)
9. Wolves on the rise as Cottagers slip (Fulham 1-1 Wolves): Fulham has been quite good at finding results this season and entered this game on a nice run, but did they think Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves would be a walkover? The Cottagers didn’t find their footing for some time in this match, as Lopetegui and his club’s increasingly comfortable transfers have done like a nice area rug and really brought the room — or the Molineux — together. Raul Jimenez is looking a bit more like Raul Jimenez with Pablo Sarabia on his right, while Mario Lemina and Craig Dawson also put in shifts on that side of the pitch. Throw in a terrific late save from mainstay Jose Sa, and you’ve got a Wolves team feeling more confident of another season in the Premier League. (NM)
10. Selhurst rocking as Palace gets its point (Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool): Wilfried Zaha’s absence and Liverpool’s status as a Premier League power might’ve led to Patrick Vieira opting to keep Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard on the bench. It looked early like Palace was happy to defend and chase a point from Moment No. 1, but Vieira clearly saw an opening in the early stages of the game. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Cheick Doucoure were super good and Michael Olise and Jeff Schlupp out wide were quite ready as well. What might this have looked like with Eze out there for more than the final 20 minutes? We won’t know, and Vieira will not likely think much about it. This is a solid point, and holding Liverpool under 1.0 expected goals is always impressive. (NM)
West Ham unleashed weeks of pent-up frustration and scored four times in the final 20 minutes to beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 at London Stadium on Saturday.
The victory pulls West Ham (23 points) out of the Premier League’s relegation zone, going from 18th to 16th thanks to results elsewhere this weekend. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, remain 13th, but are just four points clear of the bottom-three after taking just one point from their last three games.
Danny Ings scored twice in three minutes (70th and 73rd), set up first by Jarrod Bowen and then Said Benrahma, to help West Ham snap a three-game winless skid of their own. Declan Rice curled home a beauty from just outside the penalty area to further Forest frustrations in the 78th, and Michail Antonio headed goal no. 4 home seven minutes after that.
Every time West Ham take the field these days, David Moyes has perhaps picked the West Ham team for the final time. Heading into matchweek 25, reports from all over hinted that Moyes could be fired if the Hammers lost again.
West Ham remain the only side in the Premier League’s bottom-six yet to make a managerial change this season, as Moyes has once again tempted fate and escaped unemployment. From Crystal Palace (26 points) to Bournemouth in 19th (21 points), eight sides are currently separated by five points.
Stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
What’s next?
West Ham will travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the 5th round of the FA Cup on Wednesday, before returning to Premier League action away to Brighton next Saturday. Forest will host Everton at the City Ground next Sunday.
How to watch West Ham vs Nottingham Forest live, stream link and start time
West Ham remain the only side currently in the Premier League’s bottom-six yet to make a managerial chance, and Moyes’ time could be running short after three years in east London. The Hammers looked like turning a corner following a win over Everton and back-to-back draws with Newcastle and Chelsea, before turning in another listless performance in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham last weekend. Only three sides — one of them being Nottingham Forest (18) — have scored fewer goals than West Ham’s 19 this season.
Before Forest began their current run, Steve Cooper’s side say 19th in the PL table and they hadn’t spent a day outside the bottom-three since matchweek 5, but the newly and hastily assembled squad has since gelled and turned a corner defensively. In 2022, Forest conceded 31 goals in 16 games (three clean sheets, including a 1-0 win over West Ham in August); since the calendar turned over to 2023, just seven in seven (three clean sheets).
West Ham team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Maxwel Cornet (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Lucas Paqueta (shoulder), Kurt Zouma (thigh)
Nottingham Forest team news, injuries, lineup options
Tottenham Hotspur moved back into the Premier League’s top four with a workmanlike 2-0 win over West Ham United in North London on Sunday.
Scoreless at the break, Spurs found their way to the scoresheet through Emerson Royal and super sub Heung-min Son, boosting the club back into the top four with 42 points. That’s one more than Newcastle.
West Ham continues to languish in the bottom three, as David Moyes’ conservative tactics didn’t come close to panning out in a positive manner unless you count the halftime deadlock.
West Ham’s 20 points are one behind 16th-place Everton and 17th-place Bournemouth. Nottingham Forest is next on the menu for Moyes’ men, who have 14 matches left on their Premier League docket.
Tottenham only had to worry about one thing for most of this match and that was finding a way through West Ham’s defending-first shape and tactics.
Spurs’ first avenue arrived through the unlikely pairing of marauding Ben Davies and fullback Emerson Royal, who combined for an aesthetically-pleasing goal in the 75th minute.
Then it was much more familiar, as Heung-min Son came off the bench to find a bit of form after Harry Kane made the most of a 50-50 with Angelo Ogbonna.
Game. Set. Match. Welcome back to the top four, Tottenham.
David Moyes didn’t even try for three points for 70+ minutes
There are a lot of West Ham talents to admire, but almost all of the attack-minded ones were kept on the bench for well over an hour in North London.
Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen led the way for a super scrappy group of field players already missing Maxwel Cornet and Lucas Paqueta as options.
It was a lot of respect to show a Spurs team with plenty of talent but not exactly an in-form reputation, a unit also missing Rodrigo Betancur and Hugo Lloris. David Moyes left Danny Ings, Gianluca Scamacca, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, and Manuel Lanzini — not to mention forward-thinking crosser Aaron Cresswell on the bench.
West Ham had limited Spurs to 0.93 expected goals by the time Ings was being readied for arrival but had produced just 0.24 xG and a total of four shots. It made this thing snoozier than it should’ve been at THS.
Tottenham vs West Ham player ratings: Stars of the Show
From beating Manchester City to suffering a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Leicester just six days later, last week perfectly encapsulated Spurs’ roller-coaster season. Harry Kane became the club’s all-time record goal scorer on Sunday, then Tottenham went 1-0 ahead before conceding four straight goals and losing Rodrigo Bentancur for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Antonio Conte is also once again absent following a setback in his recovery from gallbladder surgery, putting Cristian Stellini back in charge for Sunday’s derby.
On the other side, West Ham is the only club currently in the bottom-six yet to make a managerial change this season, leaving many to wonder each and every week if it will be David Moyes’ last in charge. The Hammers have a bit of momentum amid a three-game unbeaten run (victory over Everton, followed by back-to-back draws with Newcastle and Chelsea), though they are winless in their last four trips to north London (0W-1D-3L).
Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Rodrigo Bentancur (torn ACL – out for season), Hugo Lloris (knee), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh)