Arsenal head to Villa Park for arguably the second toughest of all their remaining fixtures in pursuit of a first Premier League title in over 20 years.
Unai Emery’s 3rd placed Aston Villa continued their excellent form in midweek with a dramatic 4-3 victory against Brighton at the AMEX Stadium. That victory means that the Villans have won 12 of their last 14 matches across all competitions.
Arsenal continued their tilt for the title with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over London rivals Brentford at the Emirates Stadium. That means the Gunners will begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting five points clear of City at the top-of-the-table.
Can Villa topple the Gunners and continue their good form or will the visitors edge their way to the title? AllSportsPeople brings you the latest tips and odds for this clash as the Premier League heads towards the festive period.
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal preview: Who Will Win?
We're siding with Arsenal to win - but only just.
Unai Emery is a coach who provides so much tactical detail to his teams which allows them to thrive against even the strongest opposition, so blunting the Arsenal attack wouldn’t be a complete surprise.
However, Arsenal head to Birmingham knowing they can limit pretty much any team in the world to very few chances. We think Villa will score but fall just short.
Head-to-Head: Aston Villa vs Arsenal
- The most recent outing between these two teams was an entertaining affair as they shared a 2-2 draw at the Emirates back in January.
- That has continued Villa’s good record against the Gunners of late, whereby they have suffered just one defeat in their last four matches between the two sides.
- Overall, the two teams have clashed on 205 occasions with Villa having won 71 of those matches and Arsenal coming out on top 88 times.
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal: Form Guide
Aston Villa – Last 5 matches (All competitions)
- Brighton and Hove Albion 3-4 Aston Villa (Premier League)
- Aston Villa 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Premier League)
- Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (UEFA Europa League)
- Leeds United 1-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
- Aston Villa 4-0 AFC Bournemouth (Premier League)
Arsenal – Last 5 matches (All competitions)
- Arsenal 2-0 Brentford (Premier League)
- Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
- Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League)
- Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)
- Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Score Prediction
Their last couple of away games in the league have showed that Arsenal can suffer when teams play with intensity and aggression against them. They were held to draws against Sunderland a few weeks ago and then at Chelsea last weekend.
Villa will be another side that look to get after the Gunners but the resilience and sheer quality and confidence of the visitors marks them out as the favourites to edge it.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal (8.73 with Dafabet)
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Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Team News
Aston Villa Team News
- Aston Villa are dealing with a fresh injury concern, albeit it is to a fringe man, as former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley is now sidelined for a couple of months.
- As well as the absence of Barkley, another England international, Tyrone Mings, is unavailable for the hosts with Pau Torres finding some good form of late.
- Emiliano Martinez had to pull out of the game against Brighton on the day and he was replaced by Marco Bizot, who is expected to start once again this weekend.
Arsenal Team News
- Arsenal have a few key issues to deal with for this one including Declan Rice - forced off in midweek and Mikel Arteta being coy on how bad it could be for the Englishman.
- William Saliba missed out against Brentford and his replacement, Cristhian Mosquera, who has been very impressive, is also now a major doubt after an injury against the Bees.
- Arsenal remain without centre-back Gabriel and attacker Kai Havertz.
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Lineups: Predicted Starting XI’s
This is how we think these two sides will lineup at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, with Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze returing to the Gunners XI alongside makeshift striker Mikel Merino.
Aston Villa predicted lineup to play Arsenal
Aston Villa (4-3-3)
Bizot (GK) – Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne – Kamara, Tielemans – Malen, Rogers, McGinn - Watkins
- Out: Mings, Barkley
- Doubtful: Martinez
- Suspensions: N/A
Arsenal predicted lineup to play Aston Villa
Arsenal (4-3-3)
Raya (GK) – White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori – Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice – Saka, Merino, Eze
- Out: Gabriel, Havertz, Jesus
- Doubtful: Mosquera, Saliba, Rice
- Suspensions: N/A
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Odds: Who is the favourite to win?
- Aston Villa to win: 4.22 with Dafabet
- Arsenal to win: 1.96
- Draw: 3.44
How to watch: Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Live Stream, TV Channel
Here’s all the key information for how to watch Aston Villa vs. Arsenal.
- Date: Saturday, December 6
- Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
- Time: 6:00 p.m.
- TV/Stream: JioHotstar