Following Manchester City’s resounding win over Luton Town, which propelled them to the top of the table temporarily, Arsenal has the uphill task of upstaging a resurgent Aston Villa team at home to return to pole position. There is still the business of the Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Bayern Munich to attend to, but this game against Aston Villa is very important, as every Premier League game is pretty much a cup final till the end of the campaign.
Aston Villa has shown defensive frailties in recent weeks, and the 3-3 draw with Brentford was a nice sight for the neutrals but it will be a cause for concern for Unai Emery, making his homecoming today. Arsenal will be seeking some measure of revenge, with Aston Villa having a narrow win over Arsenal last year.
Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League home games against Aston Villa with the only blip, being the shock 3-0 defeat in November 2020. Arsenal has also taken 31 points out of a possible 33 in their 11 league games in 2024, only dropping points in a 0-0 draw at Manchester City.
To team news, the only injury concern Arsenal has ahead of the Aston Villa game is Jurrien Timber, who is going to be eased into action, with hopes for him to feature at some point this season. There were some concerns on Gabriel Magalhaes, as he wasn’t seen in training pictures, but Mikel Arteta kept his cards close to his chest on his availability,
“We’ve got one more day to prepare for the match and we’ll see tomorrow if everybody is available.”
Unai Emery, on the other hand, has an exhaustive injury list, which includes Matty Cash, Clement Lenglet, Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, and Emi Buendia. Arsenal will need to be wary of the form of Ollie Watkins, that has been phenomenal this season. Aston Villa will be saddened with the loss of Douglas Luis to suspension.
Arsenal and Aston Villa Predicted Lineups
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Saka, Martinelli, Havertz
Aston Villa: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans, Iroegbunam; Bailey, Rogers, Watkins
Injury / Suspension Updates
Arsenal: Jurrien Timber (knee)
Aston Villa: Matty Cash (knock), Clement Lenglet (knock), Tyrone Mings (knee), Jacob Ramsey (toe), Boubacar Kamara (knee), Emi Buendia (knee), Douglas Luis (suspended)
Form Guide
Arsenal Form
- Last Five Games: W D W W D
- Last Result: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern (Saka 12′, Trossard 76′ | Gnabry 18′, Kane 32′)
- Leading Goalscorer: Bukayo Saka (17)
Aston Villa
- Last Five Games: D W L D W
- Last Result: Aston Villa 2-1 Lille (Watkins 13′, McGinn 56′ | Diakite 84′)
- Leading Goalscorer: Ollie Watkins (25)
Gooner Daily predicts a 2 – 0 win.
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