The new Premier League is upon us and Aston Villa travel to West Ham United for the first match of their 2024/25 campaign.
It’s been a pre-season of struggle for Aston Villa, who have lost four of their last five friendly matches ahead of their trip to the London Stadium.
Unai Emery’s other worry is whether he should start Ollie Watkins against West Ham, as the 28-year-old didn’t feature for a single minute in pre-season after firing England to the Euro 2024 final.
In 2024/25, Emery has to juggle league form with the Champions League and it will be interesting to see how the Villans fare, especially after the losses of Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
Last season, Newcastle United discovered how difficult it was to juggle Europe’s elite competition and still achieve success in the league, with Villa now facing a similar problem.
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Chris Sutton makes ‘difficult’ claim ahead of Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign
It will be intriguing to see how Villa cope with their first foray into Europe’s elite competition since the 1982/83 season.
Emery has successfully brought in eight first-team players to his squad to help with that challenge but Paul Merson still thinks it will be a ‘long season’ ahead for Aston Villa.
Likewise, former Norwich City striker Chris Sutton agreed with Merson, as he questions whether they can reach the heights of last season once more while claiming how ‘difficult’ it will be for them to compete across all fronts.
Predicting the scoreline of West Ham vs Aston Villa for BBC Sport, Sutton wrote: “For Aston Villa, the question is whether they can hit the heights of last season again.
“It is going to be difficult for them to combine a top-four challenge with Champions League football once that gets started, and there might be some bumps in the road.
“This is a difficult one to call because there are reasons to back both teams, so I am going to go with a draw.”
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Unai Emery’s biggest selection dilemma ahead of West Ham
West Ham have arguably strengthened the best of any side in the Premier League. Manager Julen Lopetegui has been handed a war chest of funds to bring in the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.
The Hammers, similarly to Villa, will be aiming to challenge for the European positions in 2024/25, or perhaps break into the division’s top six.
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Given how well West Ham have strengthened, it’s going to be difficult for the Villans to achieve a positive result and Emery has a key decision to make.
Watkins – who is the centre to everything Villa do well – hasn’t played at all in pre-season however, the Spaniard will be tempted to start him for the first game.
The Englishman produced 37 goal contributions in all competitions last term and scored 19 Premier League goals. Therefore, starting their chief creator and talisman can be the difference in this match, it’s just whether Emery decides to throw him into the starting XI.
