Aston Villa will host a West Ham United side fresh from their penalty shootout victory against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Sunday.

They will likely face a fully strength Hammers side after key players were rested against Pep Guardiola's side in the cup.

Among those rested for the tie was leading goal scorer Michail Antonio, who is regularly rested by David Moyes for midweek fixtures to keep him fit for the weekend.

Antonio has scored seven goals in all competitions, collecting four assists in the process. His most recent goal coming in the Hammers' last Premier League match with a thumping shot from Aaron Cresswell's corner against Tottenham Hotspur.

Such a tally so early on has seen the 31-year-old praised by plaudits, including his own teammates eyeing up the Golden Boot for the striker.

With Cresswell adding: "There's no reason why Mich can't certainly be up there. Last season he had a big injury and missed a lot of games but if you look at his goals to games ratio he's certainly up there so there's no reason why he can't compete at that top end for the Golden Boot."

Another player rested with an eye on Villa on Saturday was star man and centre of much speculation, Declan Rice. The 22-year-old has been touted for moves to Manchester in recent weeks and was given a much-needed rest after never missing a minute in the Hammers' Premier League campaign.

Veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski could return to the squad for Sunday's game as their reliable man between the posts, but a phenomenal performance by Alphonse Areola could entice Moyes to make the switch.

After the game, assistant coach Stuart Pearce praised the Frenchman for his attitude after being seen as the second choice goalkeeper.

"He got his body in the way, or his legs and his body when he had to and what you need at a healthy football club is to have a big squad."

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In a show of Moyes' priorities for his side, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen were all benched for the City game before all coming on in the 62nd minute as West Ham looked to break the deadlock.

There were also changes at the back with the solid pairing Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma also rested for the clash.

Villa will host a Hammers side high on optimism, sitting fourth in the Premier League but it is something Pearce is letting get to his player's heads.

"There is a level of honesty here and hard work drives us on. We will not get ahead of ourselves and [we will] keep working."

Whilst he also praised Moyes for rallying on his team to take put amongst the Premier League giants.

"A lot of the credit, if not all the credit, has to go down to our manager - he drives everybody on from the players to the staff members on a daily basis.

"His energy is infectious to all of us and we're drawing on his experience - he's closing in on 1,000 matches as a manager and that takes some doing."

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