Unai Emery will be aiming to upset his former club Arsenal for the second year in a row when he takes his Aston Villa team to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Villans secured an impressive 2-0 win in this game last season, with the defeat proving costly for Arsenal in the Premier League title race. Late goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey gave the Gunners a miserable afternoon.
Villa, who have won their last three games, will be looking to repeat last season’s heroics at the Emirates on Saturday but will face a resurgent Arsenal side on Wednesday evening, fresh from a narrow north London derby triumph against Tottenham Hotspur .
Two goals in four minutes secured a comeback victory that moved Arsenal within four points of league leaders Liverpool after a game in hand. Mikel Arteta hopes his fellow Londoner Brentford can do his side a favor when they host the Reds earlier in the day.
Here is 90 minutes Guide to Arsenal vs Villa.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa H2H results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
arsenal | Aston Villa |
|---|---|
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham – 01/15/25 | Everton 0-1 Aston Villa – 15/01/25 |
Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Man Utd – 12/01/25 | Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham – 01/10/25 |
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01/07/25 | Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester – 01/04/25 |
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 01/04/25 | Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton – 30/12/24 |
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/01/25 | Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa – 12/26/24 |
country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra, NOW TV |
United States | fuboTV, UNIVERSO NOW, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO, NBC |
Canada | fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Arsenal’s injury problems are mounting as Gabriel Jesus was forced off with a cruciate ligament injury in the FA Cup against Manchester United last weekend. The Brazilian will not feature again this season and the Gunners are lacking in attacking space and Bukayo Saka will also be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Ethan Nwaneri has impressed in recent weeks but is currently in the treatment room, joining defensive players Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Riccardo Calafiori missed the North London derby with a muscle injury but could feature against Villa.
Predicted line-up for Arsenal vs Aston Villa (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli.
Donyell Malen was Villa’s first signing of the January window and the former Borussia Dortmund winger arrives with high expectations. He could make his debut at the Emirates, although Emery might be tempted to give him time to settle in.
John McGinn and Ross Barkley are still missing from the middle of the park, potentially leading to big mistakes for Villa in north London.
Emery will also be without two of his experienced central defenders: Pau Torres and Diego Carlos are out. The latter could well leave Villa Park in January given the great interest from Turkey.
Predicted Aston Villa line-up against Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, Tielemans, Ramsey; Watkins.
Arsenal have been unconvincing since Saka’s injury and the absence of Jesus for the rest of the season could force them into the transfer market as they look for attacking reinforcements. The Gunners have struggled to convert their chances in recent weeks, relying on a set-piece and a defensive error to win against Spurs in midweek.
Despite Villa being in impressive form and boasting some lethal strikers, they have struggled to keep clean sheets of late. Their shutout against Everton was their first in the Premier League since against Southampton in early December.
Saturday’s late kick-off could therefore be a hectic affair and Villa will fancy their chances of picking up a point on their visit to north London.