Arsenal meet Aston Villa in a big Premier League clash in the race for European qualification.
If Liverpool lose at Brentford, victory will move Arsenal to within one point of the league leaders, whilst Villa can go fifth with a win.
Team News
Riccardo Calafiori is available for Arsenal after he was rested for their North London derby victory over Tottenham in midweek.
Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Ethan Nwaneri (muscle), Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White (all knee) remain absent.
Villa have no fresh injury concerns following their midweek 1-0 win at Everton.
Ross Barkley (calf), John McGinn (hamstring), Diego Carlos (foot) and Pau Torres (metatarsal) remain sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Arsenal host Villa at Emirates Stadium on Saturday 18 January at 5:30pm GMT, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Arsenal have won five of their last seven league meetings against Villa (W5, L2).
- Villa have won two of their last four visits to Arsenal (W2, L2).
- Each of Arsenal’s last two league meetings against Villa have ended in 2-0 win to the team playing away from home, with both teams taking one win apiece.
- Gabriel has made more clearances in the top-flight this season than any other Arsenal player (58).
- Villa have won two of four league visits to London-based opposition this season (W2, L2).
Prediction
After staging a clinical comeback over Spurs deserving of their dominance in the North London derby, Arsenal now need to start building winning momentum if want to keep the pressure on Liverpool much like how Manchester City kept the pressure on them in the title race last season.
Villa though can’t be underestimated after a resilient defensive effort and clinical goal to see off Everton in a tight contest, but they will need to show more composure in their end product against much tougher opposition if want a win here to boost their top-four chances.
Either way, this does feel like a must-win game for both teams as any slip-up here could be costly so this could well be bit of a slog and I wouldn’t be surprised if Villa dig in for a draw.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa
Result: Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa
Leave a Reply