Arsenal vs Aston Villa Predictions

Arsenal are the clear favourites to win against Aston Villa, however, Villa cannot be ruled out because the club are known for being a tough adversary for their opponents. The best bet for this game is goal-goal.

Match info: Premier League

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London

Date: Saturday, 18^th January 2025

Time: 6:30 pm Nigerian time

Seeking another scalp at his former stomping ground, Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery takes his Lions side to the Emirates to face Arsenal in Saturday evening's Premier League contest.

Both sides were victorious in the midweek round of matches. The Gunners claimed a critical 2-1 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, while Villa subjected David Moyes to a 1-0 loss on his Everton homecoming.

Head-to-head:

• Arsenal have won 32 of the 59 Premier League meetings between the two teams.
• Aston Villa recorded 13 victories.
• The remaining 14 clashes ended in draws.
• 3 of their last 4 meetings ended in away wins.
• No goal-goal in their last 3 games.
• 4 of their last 5 encounters produced at least 2 goals.
• When Arsenal lead 1-0 at home, they win in 86% of their matches.

Form:

• Arsenal in the league: W-W-W-D-W
• Arsenal in all competitions: W-D-L-L-W
• Aston Villa in the League: W-L-D-W-W
• Aston Villa in all competitions: L-D-W-W-W

Team News:

• The Arsenal squad has a long list of injuries, including Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, and Riccardo Calafiori.
• Pau Torres, John McGinn, Ross Barkley, and Kortney Hause are out injured on the Aston Villa side.

Player(s) to watch:

• Raheem Sterling has enough experience, having played at big clubs in the Premier League. He can provide the much-needed attacking threat since many of his teammates are out injured. Will he score here or not? That pretty much depends on whether he starts or not.
• Ollie Watkins is in a strange situation, as he will be looking to score against the club that made him love football. Watkins grew up idolizing Gunners legend Thierry Henry and even expressed interest in playing for the club in an interview in 2020. However, all that is behind now. Watkins knows what’s at stake for Villa and will surely look to go all out against his boyhood crush for the love and honour of his new home. The 29-year-old already has eight goals and nine assists for Villa this season.