Aston Villa v Arsenal – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Aston Villa host Arsenal on SaturdayVilla beat Arsenal twice last season and began this campaign with a victory. The Gunners have won seven straight league matches.

Aston Villa Form

Villa had an iffy finish to last season but still managed a top four place. A run of four losses in six matches, although that streak included a 2-0 victory away at Arsenal in a superb display. A 3-1 home win over Bournemouth preceded a 2-2 home draw vs Chelsea as they were outshot 21-9.

After losing 6-2 on aggregate to Olympiakos in the Conference League, their league season petered out. A 1-0 loss at Brighton was followed by a 3-3 draw vs Liverpool and a 5-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace. They began this campaign well, scoring in the 79th minute to win 2-1 at West Ham.

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery has Emi Buendia available again, but Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings are still out with their long-term knee injuries.

Jhon Duran got the winner from the bench at West Ham but is not set to start. Ollie Watkins will keep his place upfront. Jacob Ramsey and Ian Maatsen are both pushing to start with John McGinn and Lucas Digne at threat for their places.

Aston Villa Motivation

Villa will have a lot of confidence going into this match. They will play to win the match.

Emery won’t care too much about the possession numbers, but his side will press hard and break at speed.

Arsenal Form

Mikel Arteta’s side have won seven straight league matches. It wasn’t enough to lift last season’s title as they lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa in a crucial defeat. A 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea came soon after, before winning 3-2 at rivals Tottenham having held a 3-0 lead.

Their last three fixtures of the 2023-24 season were a 3-0 win vs Bournemouth, a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, and a 2-1 win vs Everton on the final day. This term started with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Wolves with 18 shots attempted.

Arsenal Team News

Takehiro Tomiyasu is still ruled out with an injury, but the Gunners have loads of left-back options. Oleks Zinchenko or Jurrien Timber are set to get the nod ahead of Riccardo Calafiori in that role.

Thomas Partey is expected to keep his place in midfield where Fabio Vieira is an injury doubt. Gabriel Martinelli is set to get the nod over Leandro Trossard on the left wing.

Arsenal Motivation

Mikel Arteta’s side will be very focused and motivated to win at Villa Park.

They know the threat carried by Unai Emery’s team and will look to cover the counter-attack. If leading, they could sit back and protect their advantage.

Key Stats

Aston Villa have won 4 of their last 11 home EPL matches (15 home wins in a row before that)

Villa’s last 7 home matches have produced 32 goals (17 scored, 15 conceded)

Arsenal have won their last 7 league matches (18 goals scored)

Arsenal have lost their last 2 matches vs Aston Villa

Verdict

This match could be any of the three results. Goals are expected as Unai Emery’s are leaking plenty of late at Villa Park.