Revenge is on the menu for Arsenal as they travel to Aston Villa for their second Premier League outing of the season on Saturday evening.
There are narratives galore heading into the weekend’s fixture, with the Gunners aiming to atone for the two defeats thrust upon them by Unai Emery’s clinical Villans last term which ultimately derailed their title tilt. Villa were the only team to complete a league double over Arsenal in 2023/24.
Villa’s triumphs aided their progression into this season’s Champions League following a fourth-place finish, with a mightily exciting season for the club’s supporters starting with a 2-1 away win at West Ham last weekend.
Arsenal also got the ball rolling with a relatively comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves at the Emirates.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Saturday’s mouth-watering fixture.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Aston Villa |
Arsenal |
|---|---|
|
West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa – 17/08/24 |
Arsenal 2-0 Wolves – 17/08/24 |
|
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Aston Villa – 10/08/24 |
Arsenal 2-0 Lyon – 11/08/24 |
|
Aston Villa 3-2 Athletic Club – 07/08/24 |
Arsenal 4-1 Bayer Leverkusen – 07/08/24 |
|
Club America 1-0 Aston Villa – 03/08/24 |
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal – 01/08/24 |
|
RB Leipzig 2-0 Aston Villa – 01/08/24 |
Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd – 28/07/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSON |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Villa are still without long-term absentees Boubacar Traore and Tyrone Mings, with the latter now spending over a year on the sidelines.
Matty Cash sustained a knock late on at West Ham last Saturday but little was made of the issue post-match. It seems as if the Poland international will be fit to face Arsenal, although Emery could turn to Ezri Konsa as a right-back option.
Jhon Duran may have wanted out over the summer but he continues to score goals in a Villa shirt. After netting the winner in east London to start the new season, he could start alongside Ollie Watkins on Saturday.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Arsenal (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Tielemans, Onana, McGinn; Watkins, Duran.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are sidelined for the visitors but Arteta should welcome Fabio Vieira back into his matchday squad after he recovered from a hip injury.
There should be a change at left-back with Jurrien Timber coming in to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko. Riccardo Calafiori, signed from Bologna in July, is another option for Arteta but the Italian may have to wait to make his Premier League bow.
Kai Havertz could drop into a midfield position with Gabriel Jesus coming back into the side to lead the line.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Arsenal may have been beaten twice by Villa last season, but the Gunners’ performances were worthy of much more. Errant finishing cost them in both games.
If Arsenal can build upon those displays while also supplying the finishing touch, they should claim a statement victory on Saturday. This group of players are out for revenge and will be determined to topple the side that cost them the title last season.
Villa are excellent and will ride waves of positive momentum inspired by the Villa Park faithful, but a first defeat of the season may be on its way.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
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