WEST HAM UNITED v ASTON VILLA
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: HOWARD WEBB
FULL AUDIO COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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West Ham United v Aston Villa
Introduction
• West Ham United return to action in the Barclays Premier League at the Boleyn Ground after progressing to the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup with a 2-0 victory over Burnley on Tuesday night.
• The Hammers will hope to transfer their cup form into the league where they have lost their last three home matches to Stoke City , Everton and Manchester City.
• Last time out in the top-flight on Sunday 27 October, Sam Allardyce's team secured a solid point away to Swansea City, where they earned a fifth clean sheet in nine league matches. In their last outing at the Boleyn Ground the Hammers suffered a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City.
• West Ham currently occupy 15th place on nine points from nine matches played - two positions and one point worse off than Saturday's visitors Aston VIlla.
• Aston Villa have struggled for consistency so far this season, winning three, drawing one and losing five of their first nine league fixtures.
• The Villans have struggled in front of goal of late and failed to find the net during three Barclays Premier League matches over the course of October, drawing 0-0 at Hull City and losing 2-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.
• Paul Lambert's side have been beaten just once on their league travels thus far, a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea representing the only loss in four away games.
• In their last away outing, the Villans drew 0-0 at the KC Satdium against Hull City, the scene of West Ham's only away defeat this season.
Team news
West Ham United
• Matt Taylor (calf), Alou Diarra (knee), James Collins (hamstring), Andy Carroll (foot), Ricardo Vaz Te and Stephen Henderson (both shoulder) are all unavailable.
• James Tomkins looks set to play after overcoming a slight hamstring twinge suffered in mid-week.
• Mladen Petric could also be available after recovering from a knock.
Aston Villa
• Gabriel Agbonlahor (ankle), Joe Bennett (back) and Antonio Luna (hamstring) are all doubts for the Villans.
Background
• West Ham United and Aston Villa have met 107 times in total in competitive fixtures. Each club has tasted victory on 38 occasions, with 31 draws.
• The first-ever meeting between the two clubs proved to be a forgettable one for West Ham United, who were beaten 5-0 at Villa Park in the FA Cup second round on 1 February 1913.
• West Ham United's largest victory over Aston Villa came in Division One on 30 August 1958, when the newly-promoted Hammers won 7-2 at the Boleyn Ground. A 30,506-strong crowd saw John Dick, Vic Keeble and Malcolm Musgrove scored twice apiece and Bill Lansdowne once.
• Sam Allardyce faced Aston Villa five times as a manager during the 2009/10 season, when his Blackburn Rovers side were eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup by the Villans.
• West Ham United's all-time record goalscorer Vic Watson netted 18 goals in 15 appearances against Aston Villa, including three hat-tricks in November 1926, December 1929 and April 1930.
• Marlon Harewood scored West Ham United's most-recent Premier League hat-trick when he bagged three times in a 4-0 home win over Aston Villa on 12 September 2005. He later went on to play for Villa.
• A total of 13 West Ham United players have made their debuts against today's opponents Aston Villa - Alfred Earl, Ernest England, Alvin Martin, Carlos Tevez, Winston Reid, Pablo Barrera, Frederic Piquionne, Archibald Macauley, Ian Crawford, Bill Green, Craig Forrest, Paulo Alves and Matthew Upson.
Last time out
Burnley 0-2 West Ham United
Capital One Cup fourth round
29 October 2013
West Ham United: Adrian, Potts, Ruddock, Tomkins (Nolan 71), O'Brien, Chambers, Taylor, Diame (Collison 45), J Cole (Downing 60), C Cole, Maiga
Subs not used: Morrison, Spiegel, Fanimo, Tombides
Goals: Taylor 76 (pen), Collison 90 (pen)
Aston Villa 0-2 Everton
Barclays Premier League
26 October 2013
Aston Villa: Guzan, Bacuna, Luna (Clark 46), Westwood, Vlaar, Baker, Weimann, Delph, Benteke, Tonev (Helenius 77), Agbonlahor
Subs not used: El Ahmadi, Steer, Kozak, Lowton, Sylla
Previous meeting
In a tight match it was Aston Villa who eventually prevailed on a damp day at Villa Park. Christian Benteke converted a penalty after 74 minutes and Charles 'Zogbia doubled the lead with a superb free-kick five minutes later before Ashley Westwood put through his own net to set-up a grand stand finish with three minutes left.
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
10 February 2013
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Weimann (Dawkins 64), Westwood, Delph, Bowery (Bent 63), 'Zogbia (Sylla 85), Benteke
Subs not used: Given, Holman, Bannan, Bennett
Goals: Benteke 74, 'Zogbia 79
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien (Demel 24), Reid, Tomkins, Pogatetz, Noble (C Cole 76), Diame, Nolan, Taylor, J Cole (Vaz Te 67), Carroll
Subs not used: Spiegel, Jarvis, Chamakh, O'Neil
Goals: Westwood 87 (og)
Last six meetings
(Premier League unless stated)
10 February 2013 - Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United
18 August 2012 - West Ham United 1-0 Aston Villa
16 April 2011 - West Ham United 1-2 Aston Villa
14 August 2010 - Aston Villa 3-0 West Ham United
17 January 2010 - Aston Villa 0-0 West Ham United
4 November 2009 - West Ham United 2-1 Aston Villa
Overall record v Aston Villa (all competitions) W 38 D 31 L 38
Ten-year record
West Ham United
2012/13 Premier League 10th (46 points)
2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
Aston Villa
2012/13 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2011/12 Premier League 16th (38 points)
2010/11 Premier League 9th (48 points)
2009/10 Premier League 6th (64 points)
2008/09 Premier League 6th (62 points)
2007/08 Premier League 6th (60 points)
2006/07 Premier League 11th (50 points)
2005/06 Premier League 16th (42 points)
2004/05 Premier League 10th (47 points)
2003/04 Premier League 6th (56 points)
Old boys
• James Collins swapped east London for Birmingham on 1 September 2009 for an undisclosed fee after making 65 appearances in all competitions for West Ham United, scoring two goals. The Wales centre-back returned to West Ham on 1 August 2012, having scored six goals in 109 games for the Villans.
• Carlton Cole would be playing against the team where he spent the 2004/05 season on loan. Cole scored three goals in 30 league and cup appearances for Aston Villa.
• Stewart Downing spent two years with Aston Villa between 2009 and 2011, scoring eleven times in 82 matches
• Among the other players who have represented both clubs are Billy Askew, John Carew, Alan Curbishley, Mervyn Day, Marlon Harewood, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Ray Houghton, David James, Robbie Keane, Fred Norris, Nigel Reo-Coker, Tony Scott, Les Sealey, Nolberto Solano, Tommy Southren, David Unsworth and Phil Woosnam.
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Howard Webb. Webb began officiating in Yorkshire in 1989. He took charge of his first Barclays Premier League match as a referee in October 2003 and has since been the man-in-the-middle for a host of high-profile fixtures, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Holland in South Africa.
• He also refereed the 2012 npower Championship Play-Off final at Wembley, when West Ham United beat Blackpool 2-1 at Wembley to secure promotion.
• Previously, Webb also refereed the 2005 FA Community Shield, 2006 FA Trophy final and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, as well as taking charge of his first UEFA Champions League match in 2006. The former police officer was referee for the 2007 Carling Cup final and was selected as England's representative at Euro 2008, taking charge of the first match of the tournament between Austria and Poland and the Group D fixture between Greece and eventual champions Spain.
• This season, Webb officiated the Hammers' opening Barclays Premier League match against Cardiff City.
• In all, Webb has refereed West Ham on 28 occasions. He will be assisted on Saturday by Sian Massey and Darren Cann, while the fourth official will be Keith Hill.
General information
• A limited amount of tickets are still on sale for Saturday's match. For full details, click here.
• The weather forecast for Saturday is for a cloudy day with a chance of rain and highs of 13C (56F).
• The London Underground District line will be closed between Dagenham East and Upminster. Replacement buses operate. This is while line improvement work is carried out at Upminster and drainage replacement work at Elm Park.
• The London Underground Cental line will be closed between Bethnal Green and Loughton/Woodford (via Hainault). Replacement buses operate. This is while TfL replace track and points in the Leytonstone area and carry out station improvement work at Buckhurst Hill.
• The London Overground will be closed between Highbury & Islington and Stratford due to engineering works. Valid tickets will be accpeted on rail replacement buses S and Q.
• Greater Anglia rail services will be affected by engineering works between Liverpool Street and Seven Kings. Liverpool Street to Shenfield Metro services will run at a reduced frequency of four trains per hour, calling at all stations, while Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria and Southminster services will run to a revised timetable. For Liverpool Street to Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and branche services, journey times to and from Liverpool Street and Stratford will be extended by between ten and 15 minutes. For full details, click here.
• c2c rail services will run as normal on Saturday.