Aston Villa vs Arsenal tips and predictions: Can the Villans throw title fight wide open?

The form team in the Premier League host the league leaders this weekend as Aston Villa welcome Arsenal to Villa Park at 12:30PM UK on 6 December, which is one of our games in our full Premier League predictions, powered by statz.ai

Aston Villa state of play 

Unai Emery’s men kicked off the campaign with no wins in their opening five matches. Some even wondered whether the Spanish tactician might be sacked. 

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Yet here we are in December, the Villans are third in the table, six points off the top having won eight of their last nine in the English top-flight. 

On Wednesday evening, Villa came from 2-0 down to beat Brighton 4-3 at the Amex. The win means they leapfrogged Chelsea in the table and now have the opportunity to move to within three points of the summit, if they beat Mikel Arteta’s side on Saturday. 

Ollie Watkins netted twice against Brighton and heads into the game against Arsenal full of confidence. It would be the perfect storm for Villa. 

Arsenal state of play

The Gunners have been the standout team in the Premier League this season but they’d had a bit of a blip, by their standards, recently, drawing two of their last three Premier League matches. However, a 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday night restored their five point margin at the summit. 

READ: The Weekly Acca: Spurs, Man City and Bayern all feature

They face an in-form Villa team and know their lead at the top could be down to just two points, yet again, if results don’t go their way this weekend. 

Despite having one eye on their Champions League clash in midweek against Club Brugge, a win is a necessity. Not just for their title ambitions but to dent the momentum of their former manager. 

Injuries are starting to rack up again for Arsenal but William Saliba should be back for the trip to Villa Park, that’d be a huge bonus for league leaders. 

Key talking point: Aston Villa’s unstoppable force meets Arsenal’s immovable object

The only defeat for Aston Villa in their last nine matches was against Liverpool at Anfield. Apart from that, they have been perfect. 

They’re playing with confidence and finding different ways to win. On top of that, multiple players are stepping up for Emery’s side, making them difficult to stop. 

Arsenal, however, are immense defensively and they’ll back themselves against, well, anyone. 

So it is going to be fascinating to see who comes out on top here. Will it be a Villa side full of confidence? Or will it be an Arsenal team that doesn’t know what losing feels like? 

FIRST.com’s top tip - Aston Villa vs Arsenal 

Pick: Ollie Watkins to score anytime (11/4 Ladbrokes) 

Watkins netted twice against Brighton so will be buoyed by that. He also has an impressive record against the Gunners with six goals in 10 outings against Arsenal. 

The England international always seems to perform well against Arteta’s side. It might be why the North London club are always linked with a move for the versatile forward. 

Extra tips

Pick: Amadou Onana to be carded anytime (11/4 Ladbrokes)

This match is going to be a slog and expect there to be an intense midfield battle. 

Amadou Onana has two yellow cards this season so can afford to be a little more physical in this game knowing he’s not close to a suspension. Whereas teammates Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn are both on three bookings already. 

Team news

There are doubts over whether Declan Rice will be fit for the game but Gabriel definitely misses the clash. 

A few others for the Gunners are touch and go, like Leandro Trossard and Cristhian Mosquera, but expect Arteta to name a strong XI after resting a few players against Brentford. 

For Villa, only Tyrone Mings is expected to miss out. Other than that, Emery has a full squad to pick from. 

Aston Villa and Arsenal line-ups 

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, McGinn, Guessand; Watkins (4-2-3-1)

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Hincapie, Saliba, Calafiori; Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard; Saka, Merino, Martinelli (4-3-3)

Form guide

Aston Villa: WLWLWWWWWW

Arsenal: WWWWWDWWDW

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Odds correct at the time of writing.