Aston Villa welcomes West Ham in a match of the 25th round of the English Premier League. Like almost every match in this so close championship this one will also be crucial for the future of both clubs.

Aston Villa is five points ahead of West Ham, which stands on 18th place in the current standings and an eventual victory will allow them to open up a comfortable gap of 8 points ahead of the relegation zone.

This almost certainly means that Villa will remain among the best teams in England for the next season, something that would hardly be said about West Ham if they lose.

West Ham’s manager Sam Allardyce knows that better than anyone else and certainly is already trying hard to arrange his team in the best possible way in order not to lose this match. We all know that when against Aston Villa plays a team led by the the big Sam this surely means a dull, gray match with pounding of the ball and low performance by both teams.

This is why the first thing a bettor should do is to look on the proposals of the bookmakers for Under 2.5 goals scored by both teams in this match.

Bet365 gives good value for this prediction, as they offer 1.8. Bet-at-home offers 1.75 and William Hill only 1.73. The best offers are for 1.9 with the bookmakers BetVictor, SBOBET and Stan James.

However, we should have in mind that the statistics of the last ten matches between the two teams at Villa Park show that only four games have ended under 2.5 goals. Also important is the fact that in their last five home matches Aston Villa has scored 6 goals while West Ham in their last 5 away matches – 5 goals.

However, the proposal for Under 2.5 goals at odds of 1.8 with bet365 seems to me good enough to be taken and I am going to do it.