Revenge is on the menu for Arsenal as they visit Aston Villa in their second Premier League outing of the season on Saturday evening.
There is plenty of history at stake in this weekend's game, with the Gunners looking to atone for the two defeats inflicted on Unai Emery's clinical Villans last season that ultimately derailed their title push. Villa became the only team to finish the league double beating Arsenal in 2023/24.
Villa's win helped them progress to the Champions League this season following a fourth-placed finish, with the club having a very exciting season for fans starting with a 2-1 win at West Ham last weekend.
Arsenal got the ball rolling again with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves at the Emirates.
Here it is 90 min a preview of Saturday's mouth-watering game.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
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 |
|
The country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
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 without long-term absentees Boubacar Traore and Tyrone Mings, with the latter now out for more than a year.
Matty Cash scored a great goal at West Ham last Saturday but little was done about the issue after the game. It looks like the Polish international will be ready to face Arsenal, although Emery could turn to Ezri Konsa as an option at right-back.
John Duran may have wanted out this summer but he continues to score goals in a Villa shirt. After scoring a winner in east London to start the new season, he could start alongside Ollie Watkins on Saturday.
Aston Villa predicted to face Arsenal (4-4-2): Martinez; Money, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Tielemans, Onana, McGinn; Watkins, Duran.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney have been sidelined for the visitors but Arteta should welcome Fabio Vieira into his matchday squad after recovering from a hip injury.
There should be a change in the left back as Jurrien Timber will 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 may drop back into the middle with Gabriel Jesus moving back to the side to lead the line.
Arsenal predicted to face 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' performance deserved more. Eliminating the Errant cost them both games.
If Arsenal can build on those performances while providing the finishing touches, they should claim a statement win on Saturday. This group of players is determined to take revenge and will be determined to knock down the team that won the title last season.
Villa are very good and will ride the wave of positive momentum fueled by the Villa Park faithful, but a first defeat of the season could be on the way.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
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