SEEKING to extend their winning run at home in the Premier League to 15 matches, Aston Villa go up against Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday evening.
Unai Emery's side equalled their best-ever winning run in the league at home with a fully-deserved 1-0 win against Manchester City on Wednesday night.
That victory also propelled the Villians up to the lofty heights of third-place in the Premier League table.
Standing in Villa’s way of what would be a record-breaking 15th League win on the bounce are Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners held on to their place at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a last-gasp winner in a thrilling 4-3 win at Luton on Tuesday night.
Mikel Arteta will be fully aware that a much-improved showing will be required from this side this weekend if they are to be the team to end Aston Villa’s winning streak at home.
Outright Betting
After toppling Manchester City in midweek, Aston Villa are as big as 9/4 (William Hill) to out-gun Arsenal this weekend while a point a piece at Villa Park pays 13/5 (Bet 365).
Arsenal were the last visiting team to emerge victorious from Villa Park in the Premier League and they are 11/10 (Bet 365) favourites to repeat the trick on Saturday.
Betting Angles
This feels like a tricky fixture to tackle from a 1×2 perspective so I’ll instead head to the Bet Builder and bundle up Aston Villa to Score, Aston Villa to Receive a Card and John McGinn to commit a foul at 4/5 (Bet 365).
As already mentioned, Aston Villa have become a real force to be reckoned with at Villa Park under Unai Emery’s guidance and they’re certainly capable of landing a blow against the league leaders.
The Villans have smashed in a league-high 24 goals across their opening seven Premier League home games of the season, delivering multiple strikes on all but one of those occasions.
Whilst latest Villa Park visitors Arsenal are currently sitting at the top of the tree, the capital club have failed to silence their opponents in five of their last seven league games, mostly notably conceding three at lowly Luton on Tuesday night.
As such, I’ll back Aston Villa to strike at least once on Saturday evening, but to bolster the odds, I’ll also go with a minimum of one Villa card.
Unai Emery’s hosts are averaging 2.47 bookings per-game in the Premier League this season, collecting at least one card in 13 of their 15 top-flight tussles this term to date.
Given that John McGinn is averaging 1,3 fouls per 90 in the Premier League this season, I’ll wrap up the Bet Builder by backing the Scotsman to tackle himself into trouble at least once during this dust-up
The Villa skipper committed three fouls against Man City in midweek so a solitary misdemeanour doesn’t look like too big of an ask when the league leaders come calling.
I’m also going to chance an 18/1 (William Hill) longshot by throwing some loose change on Aston Villa to Win and Emiliano Martínez to be carded.
If Aston Villa are to to make history by recording a 15th home win on the spin then it is likely to be by the narrowest of margins and that could coincide with their goalkeeper using time-wasting ploys and being cautioned for doing so, much like he did during his side’s 1-0 win over Chelsea earlier this season.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal will be played on Dec 9, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
