We stay up for Saturday’s Premier League sport at Villa Park with our Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction and preview. Can the Gunners avenge final season’s defeats to former boss Unai Emery?
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Stats: The Key Insights
- Arsenal are favoured by the Opta supercomputer to make it two wins from two Premier League video games, beating Aston Villa in 49.9% of pre-match simulations.
- Villa did the double over Arsenal final season, accounting for 40% of the Gunners’ league defeats (2/5). They’ve received three straight Premier League video games in opposition to them twice beforehand, in November 1993 and February 2021.
- Bukayo Saka has received 99 of his 171 Premier League video games with Arsenal. One other victory will make him the fourth participant to succeed in 100 wins within the competitors earlier than turning 23, after Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fàbregas and Phil Foden.
Arsenal fell simply two factors wanting ending their 20-year Premier League title drought final season, and Aston Villa have been accountable for six of the factors dropped by Mikel Arteta’s males. On Saturday, the Gunners are plotting revenge over their former boss Unai Emery in a blockbuster early night kick-off at Villa Park.
Emery’s Villa have been accountable for 40% of Arsenal’s Premier League defeats in 2023-24 (2/5), triumphing 1-0 at Villa Park final December and 2-0 on the Emirates Stadium in April. They may now win three straight Premier League video games in opposition to the Gunners for the third time, having beforehand finished so in November 1993 and February 2021.
They may face a mammoth problem in opposition to Arteta’s aspect, although, after they kickstarted their newest title bid with a snug 2-0 win over Wolves on Matchday 1, with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka on track.
Villa are literally the one crew to beat Arsenal within the Premier League in 2024, the Gunners managing 17 victories in 19 video games this calendar yr (one draw, one defeat). In Soccer League historical past, probably the most wins ever managed by a crew by means of their first 20 matches in a calendar yr is eighteen, achieved by Liverpool in 1982 and Manchester Metropolis in each 2019 and 2021.
The Gunners have been notably robust on the highway this yr, profitable eight of 9 Premier League away video games with the one exception being a goalless draw at Manchester Metropolis. Arteta’s aspect have stored seven clear sheets in these matches, solely conceding three objectives from an anticipated objectives in opposition to (xGA) whole of 5.89. Metropolis have the next-best defensive report on the highway in 2024, and so they have given up 12.39 xGA in 10 away matches.
Arteta may decide to introduce Jurriën Timber or Riccardo Calafiori from the beginning on Saturday, although Oleksandr Zinchenko proved a helpful outlet in opposition to Wolves final week, with solely Martin Ødegaard (19) bettering the left-back’s 15 correct passes into the ultimate third.
Additional ahead, Arsenal will once more lean on the brilliance of Saka, who contributed a objective and an help final day out and has been on the profitable aspect in 99 of his 171 Premier League video games with them. One other win would make him simply the fourth participant to succeed in 100 victories within the competitors earlier than turning 23 years outdated, after Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fàbregas and Phil Foden.
Fellow ahead Havertz, in the meantime, has 17 Premier League objective involvements (10 objectives, seven assists) since February 17, when Arsenal trounced Burnley 5-0. No participant has extra contributions in that point, although Havertz is but to attain or help in seven video games in opposition to Villa, for each Chelsea and Arsenal.
Villa additionally began their marketing campaign with a win, as Jhon Durán got here off the bench to attain the winner in a 2-1 triumph at West Ham after Lucas Paquetá’s penalty had cancelled out Amadou Onana’s debut objective.
Durán’s objective was his sixth within the Premier League and his fifth as an alternative (83%), with Matt Derbyshire the one participant within the competitors’s historical past to internet 5 or extra objectives and see the next proportion of them come off the bench (90% – 9 of 10).
Durán additionally averages a objective each 103 minutes within the Premier League, with Erling Haaland the one participant to attain not less than 5 occasions within the division and boast a greater minutes-per-goal ratio (one each 85 minutes).
Onana, in the meantime, has scored all 4 of his Premier League objectives by way of headers from corners, with final week’s effort making him Villa’s twenty seventh debutant to internet within the competitors.
Villa’s Matchday 1 victory was their first since 2020-21 (1-0 versus Sheffield United), and so they may now begin a Premier League season with back-to-back wins for the fourth time, beforehand doing so in 1995-96, 1999-00 and 2020-21.
Emery will once more be with out long-term harm absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings, however in any other case has a full squad obtainable to select from.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Head-to-Head
Villa have received 5 of their final 9 Premier League conferences with Arsenal (4 defeats), preserving a clear sheet in each victory.
That’s as many wins as they’d managed of their earlier 46 league matches in opposition to the Gunners (14 attracts, 27 defeats).
Arsenal, although, have received 14 away Premier League video games in opposition to the Villans, their joint-most wins at a single away venue within the competitors, having additionally triumphed 14 occasions at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park.
The Gunners have additionally scored 98 Premier League objectives in opposition to Villa in whole, solely netting extra in opposition to Everton (124), West Ham (109) and Tottenham (105). Solely Liverpool and Manchester United (5 opponents every) have netted 100 or extra Premier League objectives in opposition to extra totally different golf equipment.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Prediction
The Opta supercomputer makes Arsenal favourites to make it two wins from two video games in 2024-25, although it doesn’t rule out the prospect of Villa irritating them once more.
Throughout 10,000 pre-match simulations performed by the supercomputer, the Gunners have been victorious in 51.1% to Villa’s 24.7%, with 24.2% of eventualities ending in a draw.
Forward of Matchday 2, the supercomputer offers Arsenal a 9.6% likelihood of profitable the title however a 50.2% likelihood of ending second for a 3rd straight season. Villa, in the meantime, are assigned a 9.8% likelihood of replicating final marketing campaign’s fourth-place end.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martínez, Matty Money, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey, Ollie Watkins
Arsenal: David Raya, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka.
Opta Energy Rankings
The Opta Energy Rankings are a world crew rating system that assigns a capability rating to over 13,000 home soccer groups on a scale between zero and 100, the place zero is the worst-ranked crew on the earth and 100 is the very best crew on the earth.
Forward of kick-off this weekend, right here is the Opta Energy Rating for each side:
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