The claret and blue derby is a bottom v top clash this year and with questions abounding in the media this week over Aston Villa's title race status, this is exactly the type of match that they need to be winning if they are to sustain a title challenge. West Ham have shown a little more stability of late as they work their way back from a really poor start to the season.

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You can also see the best West Ham v Aston Villa Betting Stats ahead of Sunday's kick-off.

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📈 West Ham v Aston Villa Form & Stats

West Ham are finally looking more solid under Nuno Espirito Santo. They have lost only once in their last six, and only a last-minute equaliser from Georginio Rutter denied them a third win in six last time out. The team is looking more mobile and organised, which gives them a more likely chance of remaining a Premier League team next season.

They rank 15th for expected goals, 15th for shots on target, 18th for big chances created, and 19th for touches in the opposition box. West Ham are also 19th for expected goals against, so there are definite reasons why the Hammers have struggled so far this term, but early signs are that Espirito Santo has some of the answers.

Much has been written this week about Aston Villa and their form, nine wins from 10 in the Premier League has well and truly put the Villans into the title race, and it is the first time that they have nine wins in the column this early in a season since 1919.

It is interesting though, to dig a little deeper. Villa are definitely overperforming their performance metrics. They are actually running at a negative expected goals differential of -0.22 xG per game, so the fact that they are in 3rd and have so many points is fairly incredible. Performances like the one against Arsenal last time out though, do show that they are continuing to improve and if that becomes the norm, then they can be a real player at the top of the league.

📔 West Ham v Aston Villa Formation & Team News

The eternal question from a West Ham perspective is about how to get the best out of the forward talent at their disposal. Espirito Santo's most recent attempt to find the right combination was a 3-4-1-2 shape with Lucas Paqueta in the #10 role feeding nimble forwards in Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville. There are genuine centre forwards available in Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug, so there could be a change back to a 4-2-3-1 here.

There are no new changes to availability in the West Ham squad, just rotation and selection dilemmas to solve.

Aston Villa will continue to use a 4-2-3-1 system with Ollie Watkins likely to retain his place as the lone forward. Emiliano Buendia's form has been a revelation in recent weeks, though Donyell Malen continues to press his claims. Where Emery seems to do well is that he enables his wide forwards to play very centrally, getting their width from Matty Cash and Ian Maatsen instead. This gives them numbers in the centre.

Harvey Elliott appears to be unavailable due to an obligation clause in his loan agreement, which does make the squad a bit thinner in forward areas.

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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.