Aston Villa vs Arsenal Preview – Prediction, how to watch & potential line-ups | OneFootball

Arsenal’s faltering attempt to win the first Premier League title in 20 years faces another stern test in the shape of Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

Villa’s four-match unbeaten league start to the new calendar year (W3, D1) feels like ancient history after Unai Emery’s side lost back-to-back outings to Leicester City and Manchester City 4-2 and 3-1, respectively.

The Spanish manager will have an added motive to reboot his side starting this weekend as he aims to show Arsenal they were wrong for relinquishing his services in 2019.

Now would be a perfect time to claim his vengeance, with 11th-placed Villa bidding to close a three-point gap on tenth-placed Chelsea and bolster their hopes of securing a first top-half finish since 2010/11.

Arsenal’s recent fall from grace culminated with a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Man City on Wednesday, capping off an underwhelming four-game winless streak (D1, L3).

With the Gunners’ once safe-looking eight-point lead shredded into pieces and Mikel Arteta’s side surrendering their place at the summit, the visitors will be out to get their stuttering title bid back on track.

Despite still boasting a game in hand over Man City, the Londoners must stem the bleeding to prove a ‘losers’ mentality from recent seasons stayed in the past.

Match Preview

Aston Villa

After going down to Leicester in their last home league outing, Villa could lose two Premier League matches at Villa Park for the first time since April 2022, when coincidentally one of those defeats came against Arsenal.

Villa Park has been anything but a safe shelter for the Lions since the season resumed after the World Cup, with Emery’s side managing just one win in five home games from Boxing Day onwards (D1, L3).

However, the Birmingham crowd witnessed some high-scoring affairs in that period, with four of those five fixtures producing over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.

Arsenal

Since a 3-2 home win over Manchester United in January, Arsenal have gone winless in three consecutive Premier League contests (D1, L2), scoring just twice in this sequence.

Arteta’s men have had to learn the hard way that the margin for error at the top of the table is thin and avoiding losing three consecutive away matches for the first time since December 2021 is now a priority.

Luckily for the Gunners, Villa Park has been a happy hunting ground for them of late, as they’ve registered four wins on their last six Premier League visits to this venue (L2).

Aston Villa vs Arsenal Potential Line-ups

Aston Villa (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Ashley Young, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Alex Moreno; Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey; Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Granit Xhaka, Jorginho; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard; Eddie Nketiah.

How to Watch?

Aston Villa vs Arsenal, alongside all other fixtures in England’s top flight, is available to watch online via live Premier League streams.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal Prediction

Emery could not have timed his first encounter against his former employers any better, but Villa’s sub-par home performances after the World Cup break means they cannot take anything for granted.

Despite experiencing a significant dip in form, Arsenal still have enough quality and firepower to cause all sorts of problems to Villa’s poor-performing defence.

We back the Gunners to return to winning ways, but it’s hard to see them winning ‘to nil.’

Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal