Arsenal and Aston Villa kick the Premier League weekend off on Friday night when the pair meet at the Emirates.
Alexandre Lacazette’s 94th minute equaliser earned a point at home to Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had given Arsenal an early lead; however Palace turned the game around just after the break.
Aston Villa were stunned by Wolves last weekend as they blew a 2-0 lead to their local rivals.
Goals in the last 10 minutes from Romain Saiss, Conor Coady and Ruben Neves completed a remarkable comeback.
Premier League form: Arsenal W3 D2 L0; Aston Villa W2 D0 L3
Premier League top scorers
Arsenal – Pierre Emerick Aubameyang 3 goals
Aston Villa – Danny Ings 3 goals
Match history
Aston Villa won both meetings last term, including a 3-0 win at the Emirates, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice for the visitors.
Villa have won the last three between the two, with Arsenal’s last win a 3-2 win back in 2019 with Aubameyang scoring a late winner.
Last five Premier League meetings
Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 0 – 06/02/21
Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 3 – 08/11/20
Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 0 – 21/07/20
Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 2 – 22/09/19
Arsenal 4 Aston Villa 0 – 15/05/16
Team news
Bukayo Saka was withdrawn at half-time due to injury in the draw with Palace and is a major doubt here.
Kieran Tierney is another who will be assessed ahead of Friday’s game; however he should be fine.
Leon Bailey and Matty Cash have been passed fit and both will be in the squad.
Despite their collapse to Wolves, Villa are unlikely to make many adjustments.
Expected starting XI’s
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Lokonga; Pepe, Odegaard, Smith-Rowe; Aubameyang
Aston Villa (3-5-2): Martinez; Konsa, Tuanzebe, Mings; Cash, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Targett; Watkins, Ings
Predictions
Result: Draw
Aston Villa have a good recent record against Arsenal and it wouldn’t be a shock if they took something from the game
Correct Score: 1-1
Both sides have struggled defensively in recent weeks and I can see both teams scoring here
Anytime Goalscorer: Ollie Watkins
Watkins scored three goals in two games against the Gunners last term
