Aston Villa vs Arsenal Premier League prediction and stats: Unai Emery welcomes former side to Villa Park
Unai Emery will be hoping to make it three consecutive wins against his former side when Aston Villa welcome Arsenal to Villa Park in the Premier League.
Both sides kicked the new season off with a win on the opening weekend. Aston Villa bear West Ham 2-1 away from home and Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 victory over Wolves at the Emirates.
Three predictions for Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Aston Villa 1-1 Arsenal (23/4 with BetMGM)
Aston Villa did the double over Arsenal in the Premier League last season. However, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League away games conceding just three goals in that time.
Bukayo Saka to score anytime (17/10 with BetMGM)
Bukayo Saka scored more away goals than any other Arsenal player in the Premier League last season (nine). In fact, he scored more league goals on the road than he did at the Emirates (seven).
Ollie Watkins to score or assist (33/20 with BetMGM)
Ollie Watkins was directly involved in 19 goals in 23 home games across all competitions last season (12 goals, 7 assists). He equalled the club record for the most goals in a single Premier League campaign (19) and was awarded the Playmaker Award for his 13 assists.
How both teams go into Aston Villa vs Arsenal
After starting last season with eight consecutive home wins in the Premier League, Unai Emery will be hoping his side can get off to another brilliant start at Villa Park.
The Villans went 10 unbeaten on home soil to begin 2023/24, eventually losing to Newcastle at the end of January. But face a much tougher start this time around with the visit of the runners-up in the previous two campaigns in Arsenal. Villa will, at least, be high on confidence after beating West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium on the opening weekend.
The Gunners themselves are on an incredible run on the road, winning eight of their nine away games in the Premier League, drawing one and losing none. In that run, Mikel Arteta’s side have kept seven clean sheets and conceded just three goals and have lost just once home or away in the league during this calendar year — a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the Emirates. That result put an end to the Gunners’ title chances and meant that Villa completed the double over Arsenal for just the third time in the Premier League after the 1992/93 and 2020/21 campaigns. Arsenal may feel like they have the edge here, though, given how they cruised past Wolves last week.
Aston Villa host Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday 24th August at 5:30pm.
Aston Villa team news
Aston Villa are still without Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara, but the Villans have had a big boost with both those players. Both Mings and Kamara are edging closer to returns, and could be back training soon.
Back-up goalkeeper Robin Olsen is a doubt. Matty Cash came off injured against West Ham but looks to be okay.
Arsenal team news
Declan Rice’s late withdrawal against Wolves was due to cramp, so the England midfielder should be fine here. Arteta doesn’t have any concerns at present aside from Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal head-to-head
Aston Villa did the double over Arsenal for just the third time in the Premier League last season after the 1992/93 and 2020/21 campaigns.
| Aston Villa vs Arsenal H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 14/04/24 | Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa | Emirates Stadium, London | |||||
| 09/12/23 | Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal | Villa Park, Birmingham | |||||
| 18/02/23 | Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal | Villa Park, Birmingham | |||||
| 31/08/22 | Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa | Emirates Stadium, London | |||||
| 19/03/22 | Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal | Villa Park, Birmingham | |||||
| 22/10/21 | Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa | Emirates Stadium, London | |||||
How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live
Aston Villa vs Arsenal is scheduled for 5:30pm on Saturday 24th August and will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.
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