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Aston Villa v Arsenal
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Kick Off: Saturday 24th August at 17:30
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Competition: Premier League
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Watch Live: Sky Sports
Two of England’s Champions League representatives collide at Villa Park on Saturday evening when Aston Villa and Arsenal meet in what promises to be a captivating Premier League encounter.
The Gunners were beaten just five times in the top flight last season, though their former manager and current Villa boss, Unai Emery, masterminded two of those defeats and put a couple of severe dents in Arsenal’s title ambitions.
The Villains are priced as long as 4.00 to complete a hattrick of successive victories over the Londoners this weekend with Arsenal favourites at 1.80. Below, we’ve taken a detailed look at what bettors should expect from Saturday evening’s clash.
After a dramatic return last weekend, action in the Premier League continues this Saturday with plenty of enticing contests, and our signature football betting predictions have you covered for all the matchups this weekend. These include a plethora of Premier League bet builder tips and Premier League accumulator tips, alongside our expert’s both teams to score tips for whatever your betting style.
In addition, our card betting tips, player shots on target tips, and fouls betting predictions are perfect for all of you avid bet builder crafters. Our Aston Villa v Arsenal bet builder tips will also provide great insight into Saturday’s heavyweight clash.
Aston Villa v Arsenal Best Bets
Aston Villa kept two clean sheets in as many encounters with Arsenal last season, however, they conceded 3.00 in xGA combined across the same meetings and were probably a little fortunate to finish each fixture unscathed.
Backing both teams to score this time around looks like a more attractive prospect at 1.60. 74% of the Villains’ home games in the Premier League last term featured goals at both ends, while Arsenal failed to score in only three of their 19 away assignments during the 2023/24 campaign.
Villa rarely fail to notch on home soil under Emery, indeed, they have rattled the net at least once in an incredible 31 of their 32 Premier League matches at Villa Park since the Spaniard’s appointment in November 2022.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s price in the double chance market at 1.91 is also difficult to pass up. Villa won their first eight home games of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign and beat Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal during that early-season surge.
The Villains could be primed for another rapid start in the Midlands under Unai Emery and last year’s league double over Arsenal should allow them to approach Saturday’s task with plenty of confidence.
📂 Aston Villa v Arsenal Cheat Sheet
There are so many ways to use our Cheat Sheets and we encourage you to find your own formula to pick a winning bet builder, however, if you’re unsure of how to use a Cheat Sheet, just click the link for some quick tips to help you make the most of it.
You can find even more match stats for this match on my bet builder stats tool, along with official line-ups one hour before kick-off.
In order to help you bet smarter, we have also collected a list of the best free bet offers, weekly free bet clubs, and best UK sports betting sites. Check out our list of the best Premier League free bet offers, best betting sites for accumulators and the top bet builder sites.
We aim to make our readers better punters, and guides such as our xG in football article are available on-site to help you take your research to the next level. Other useful pieces include our guide to betting on corners, and our tips for how to bet on the fouls won market.
📊 Aston Villa Form and Stats
Aston Villa started the new campaign in confidence-building fashion when overcame a stiff challenge posed by West Ham at the London Stadium.
The Villains aimed just 20% (three) of their 15 attempts on target in the capital and racked up 2.00 compared to the Irons’ 2.30, though goals from debutant Amadou Onana and sub Jhon Duran were enough to cancel out a contentious Lucas Paqueta penalty for West Ham.
Villa averaged just 1.47 goals per away game last season, finished with a negative goal difference (-5) from their fixtures on the road and had dropped points on each of their five previous visits to the London Stadium before their recent triumph, so it was a case of early improvement across the board on matchday one.
Club captain John McGinn was Villa’s driving force at West Ham. The 29-year-old had two shots, committed two fouls and drew three himself on a typically combative display last weekend.
The Scottish international scored the winning goal and also collected a yellow card when Villa beat Arsenal 1-0 in last season’s corresponding fixture between the clubs at Villa Park and he should be just as central to proceedings again in Saturday’s rematch.
📊 Arsenal Form and Stats
Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Wolves in their opening Premier League fixture was the very definition of routine and the usual suspects set the standards for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.
Last season’s defensive stalwarts, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, marshalled things expertly at the back and restricted Wolves to just three shots on target and an xGF of 0.50.
Further forward, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka, who combined for both of Arsenal’s goals against Wanderers, racked up ten attempts between them while the second half introductions of Jurrien Timber, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus highlighted the depth of talent at Mikel Arteta’s disposal.
Only Southampton (19), who played the majority of their first fixture at Newcastle with a one-man advantage, had more shots on matchday one than Arsenal (18) and the Gunners, who scored 91 times in last season’s Premier League, are brimming with goal-scoring potential again.
Arsenal did commit 17 fouls against Wolves however, and only two teams gave away more free kicks over the campaign’s opening weekend. The Gunners weren’t notable foulers last term and averaged just 10.3 per 90 minutes, so we might be seeing the emergence of a new, more cynical defensive strategy this year.
⚔️ Aston Villa v Arsenal Head-to-Head
Aston Villa were the only team to beat Arsenal twice last season and of the five defeats the Gunners suffered in the Premier League in 2023/24, the Villains accounted for 40% of them.
Villa had lost four Premier League meetings with Arsenal on the spin before Unai Emery’s counter-attacking gameplan earned them a double dose of success against the Londoners last term.
Villa needed just two shots on target to counter-punch their way to three points at The Emirates Stadium on April 14th. The Villains lost the xGF battle by 0.9 to 1.60 on that occasion but showed more ruthlessness than their hosts.
The tale of the tape was similar at Villa Park, when the Midlanders made better use of their 0.4 in xGF to oust the Gunners 1-0 (1.40 xGF). Arsenal struggled to contain the running power of Ollie Watkins on both occasions and allowed the 28-year-old to muster seven attempts in two appearances against them.
Watkins has routinely been a thorn in Arsenal’s side and since joining Villa in 2020, he’s scored five goals in eight appearances against the Gunners.
This fixture has developed a habit of producing late drama in recent seasons. The last four tussles between Aston Villa and Arsenal featured four goals scored in the 84th minute or later.
* We recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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