Aston Villa host Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend, looking to secure a third consecutive league win over the Gunners after doing the double over them last year.
Both sides made a winning start to the new campaign last Saturday, with Arsenal seeing off Wolves while Villa defeated West Ham on the road, but this will no doubt prove to be a tougher test for both Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta.
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After a memorable win at Villa Park last December, Villa dealt another crushing blow to their rivals’ title hopes in the back-end of the last campaign with a win at the Emirates, and so Arsenal will be looking to avenge those defeats with an important result in this meeting as they launch another title bid.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal
When: Saturday August 24, 17:30 KO
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham
How to watch:
UK – Sky Sports Premier League/Main Event
Australia – Optus Sport
France – Canal+ Foot
Portugal – DAZN
Spain – DAZN
Canada – FuboTV
Brazil – Disney+
India – STAR Sports
Italy – Sky Sport
Germany/Austria – Sky Sports
Denmark/Finland/Norway/Sweden – Viaplay
Malaysia – Astro SuperSport
Match predictions, preview & predicted lineups
Both sides were praised for their performances last weekend, with Villa summer signing Amadou Onana impressing in midfield on his debut, before Jhon Duran scored the winner against the Hammers, a side he was heavily linked with joining earlier this summer.
As for Arsenal, goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka saw off Wolves as they made a confident start to the new season, and they’ll be looking to take that into this showdown.
There is a doubt for hosts on Matty Cash as he could be sidelined with a hamstring issue, and so it will be interesting to see if they are forced into a reshuffle at the back, while Jorginho has been tipped to come in for Declan Rice. The England international did rejoin training this week after an injury concern, so it remains to be seen if he starts.
With the optimism around the club on and off the pitch currently and with this being their first home game of the season, Villa will present a huge challenge for Arsenal once again. It would come as no surprise if Emery masterminds another victory, but the two sides could be forced to share a point apiece in a tight encounter between two high-level sides with quality across the pitch. Prediction: 1-1.
Predicted lineups:
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Jorginho; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
