Aston Villa vs Arsenal Prediction: Defeating the former manager

Arsenal managers, both old and new, will face off in the West Midlands on Saturday evening, as the Gunners travel to Aston Villa, managed by Unai Emery, for a Premier League match.

Both teams had three points after one matchday, with the Lions beating West Ham United 2-1 on the opening day, while Mikel Arteta's side scored two goals to nil against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Latest Aston Villa vs Arsenal team news

Eight minutes before the end of the match between Villa and West Ham, right-back Matty Cash was substituted and appeared to have suffered an upper leg injury, although Emery did not mention the issue after the game.

However, reserve right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic is available to replace him, but if Cash is not fit to play, Emery could opt for an experienced solution by moving Ezri Konsa to right-back, allowing Diego Carlos – despite transfer links – to return to the center of the defense.

Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings are still recovering from serious knee injuries, and Villa should consider bringing Duran into the starting lineup; the 20-year-old scores a goal on average every 103 minutes in the Premier League, second only to Erling Haaland – every 85 minutes – among current players with at least five goals in the league.

Arsenal also had to make a late substitution in their win against Wolves, with Declan Rice suffering cramps a few minutes before the end of the match, but the England midfielder is expected to be confirmed ready to play at Villa Park.

Fabio Vieira (hip) may also recover in time for the trip to West Midlands, but defenders Kieran Tierney (hamstring) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) will still need a few more weeks to recover.

Following his goal and assist in the win against Wolves, Havertz is looking to erase personal jinxes on Saturday, as the former Chelsea striker has yet to score or assist in his previous seven Premier League encounters with Villa, his worst record against an English team in the top flight.

Latest predicted lineups for Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Tielemans, Onana, McGinn; Watkins, Duran

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Latest match preview and prediction for Aston Villa vs Arsenal.

If Jhon Duran had successfully completed his early transfer during the last transfer window, the Colombian striker could have been wearing a different Claret shirt than he is now, having joked about a move to West Ham on social media before the deal ultimately fell through.

Duran watched the match at London Stadium last week for an hour as Lucas Paqueta's penalty equalized Amadou Onana's opening goal, and after Emery's players missed several chances to restore their lead, Duran sealed West Ham's fate with a goal in the 79th minute.

The young striker celebrated his goal by pointing to the London Stadium pitch in front of the Villa fans – a gesture that may have alluded to his determination to stay with Emery rather than continue at West Ham – helping Villa end a four-match winless streak in the Premier League.

Based on the number of chances Villa created, they should have finished the game against Julen Lopetegui without the South American's late intervention, but now the Lions are on the verge of opening a Premier League season with two consecutive wins for only the fourth time.

Previously, Villa had won 15 consecutive Premier League home games in 2023, but Emery's side have lost that home winning consistency, although they have still scored at least two goals in their last eight matches at Villa Park.

Speaking of scoring many goals at home, Arsenal's opening match of the 2024-25 season saw them host Wolves, against whom they had scored in 33 consecutive games, a streak that extended to 34 when Kai Havertz headed in a goal from a Bukayo Saka pass.

Arsenal appeared to have briefly returned to their old form, although Arteta's side were unable to capitalize on that slender advantage and allowed Gary O'Neil's side back into the game, but another combination between Havertz and Saka in the second half ended with Saka beating Jose Sa at the near post.

Arsenal have been, and will continue to be, more convincing in their wins than last weekend, although some of Arteta's players may still be recovering from their summer break, and keeping Wolves scoreless has helped extend their Premier League winning streak to a commendable seven consecutive matches.

Arsenal are also a prolific away team in the Premier League, having earned 25 points from a possible 27 away games in the top flight in 2024, keeping seven clean sheets in those nine matches and conceding only three goals.

However, Villa are the only team to have achieved a Premier League double against Arsenal last season – winning 1-0 at home before a shock 2-0 victory at the Emirates – meaning former Arsenal manager Emery knows the visitors' weaknesses in several ways. Fourteen wins at Villa Park is Arsenal's most Premier League away win, but the Gunners were fortunate not to be punished for some poor performances against Wolves, where they failed to show their best form.

Arteta's players can always be expected to hold their ground – or nearly so – defensively, but with Duran and Ollie Watkins posing a significant threat to Villa's attack, we predict Saturday's match will end in a tense draw.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Aston Villa vs Arsenalas follows:

• Sportsmole:Aston Villa 1-1 Arsenal

• WhoScore:Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
• Our newspaper predicts:Aston Villa 1-3 Arsenal

When and where can I watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live?

To watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal match live in the English Premier League at 11:30 PM on August 24th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.

Hung Cuong