By Aston Villa FC

Aston Villa boast a clean bill of health for Sunday’s Premier League clash against West Ham United (ko 2pm).

Ludwig Augustinsson missed Tuesday night’s 4-1 victory at Bolton Wanderers due to a knee complaint but he has returned to training.

Fellow defender Diego Carlos (Achilles) remains a long-term absentee.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s test against the Hammers, boss Steven Gerrard said: “Obviously, everyone is well aware of Diego and Kortney (Hause) moving on.

“We’re fully fit. Ludwig has trained today, he missed midweek with a bit of a tweak in his knee area but he’s fine.

“So we should be healthy going into the weekend.

“We’ve obviously got tomorrow’s session to go prior to the game, so fingers crossed we should be healthy.”

Steven Gerrard

Villa host David Moyes’ side looking to get back to winning ways in the league on the back of last weekend’s reverse at Crystal Palace.

West Ham have suffered three successive defeats to open their 2022/23 campaign, although they triumphed in their Europa Conference League play-off over Viborg on Thursday night.

And head coach Gerrard is expecting a stern test at Villa Park this weekend.

“I watched them last night and they certainly didn’t look like a bad team to me,” he said.

“West Ham have done ever so well under the guidance of David Moyes over the last few years.

“They’ve been up competing at the top end of the league and pushing for those European spots. They’ve had a fantastic run in Europe. I know more than most about European runs, as a player and as a manager, and how difficult it is to get to those latter stages.

“David Moyes and his team have done an incredible job over the last few years. There certainly won’t be any disrespect or wild opinions coming from this direction.

“Having said that, I’m sure he (Moyes) would have wanted a more positive start – a bit like myself. I’m sure he’ll be desperate to take three points at the weekend.

“It’s all to play for. It’s a tough game for both teams, and I’m looking forward to it.”