Latest EPL standings as well as fixtures and results are found below the predictions.
Arsenal and Aston Villa pit their European qualification aspirations against each other when they meet in the English Premier League on Saturday.
The Villa Park clash sees the Gunners needing a win to rediscover the form that hauled them from the murky depths of the EPL table and into the top half.
A draw with Manchester United and defeat to out-of-form Wolves has put the brakes on that but Mikel Arteta’s men could still go above arch-rivals Tottenham and as high as seventh if they can return to winning ways.
Loanee keeper Mat Ryan is in a race against time on his return from injury to deputise for the suspended Bernd Leno between the sticks in the Midlands.
David Luiz is also banned, while Kieran Tierney is a doubt after missing the midweek action through injury.
Aston Villa have been blighted by inconsistency in recent weeks, which threatens to pull the rug from under their top six tilt.
Last Saturday’s impressive victory at Southampton was followed up by defeat at home to high-flying West Ham in midweek, summing up their recent lot.
Boss Dean Smith does at least have the benefit of a near-fully fit squad to select from, albeit with Kortney Hause ruled out by injury.
The Villans are likely to make changes though, as they strive to rediscover their early season form, with Bertrand Traore, Morgan Sanson and Marvelous Nakamba all pushing to be involved from the start.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: By the numbers
- Coming into this game, Aston Villa has picked up 6 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 1.2 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in just 2 of those games. Aston Villa has scored 6 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- Aston Villa has enjoyed playing at home recently, with the side currently unbeaten in 3 games.
- Just 2 of the last 5 games for Aston Villa has ended with both teams scoring. They have won 2 of those 5 games. Overall, BTTS has landed in 7/19 games for Aston Villa this season.
- Coming into this game, Arsenal has picked up 11 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 2.2 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in just 1 of those games. Arsenal has scored 10 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- Arsenal has enjoyed playing away from home recently, with the side currently unbeaten in 3 games.
- Momentum is really building for Arsenal as they have now gone 7 games without losing. They have won 3 of the last 5 games they have played.
- Arsenal has kept 4 clean sheets in the last 5 games, conceding 1 goals during this period. Overall this season, their defence has kept a clean sheet on 8 occasions.
- Arsenal is unbeaten in the last 5 games coming into this fixture against Aston Villa, having won 3 and drawn 2. They have scored 10 goals in those 5 games.
- Things have not been going that well in front of goal for Arsenal recently, with the side failing to score in 2 of the last 5 games. Will the manager change his tactics today, or throw in another forward?
- Arsenal has fired blanks in 8 games this season. That’s 38% of games where they have not been able to find the back of the net. Do they need a new forward? In the last 5 games, they have scored just 10 goals.
- Just 1 of the last 5 games for Arsenal has ended with both teams scoring. They have won 3 of those 5 games. Overall, BTTS has landed in 8/21 games for Arsenal this season.
Stats source:?footystats.org
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: EPL starting XI prediction
Probable Aston Villa Starting XI: Emiliano Martinez, Matthew Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Matthew Targett, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Bertrand Traore, Morgan Sanson, Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins.
Probable Arsenal Starting XI: Mat Ryan, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Cedric Soares, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette.