Two of the most in-form sides in the Premier League meet at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime as leaders Arsenal travel to third-placed Aston Villa.
Arsenal returned to winning ways following their fiercely-contested 1-1 draw away at London rivals Chelsea on Sunday – on an afternoon where I predicted a score draw – as they defeated mid-table Brentford 2-0 at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
That win maintained the Gunners’ five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, but they travel to Villa Park having drawn both of their last two away matches.
Aston Villa endured an incredibly slow start to the campaign, as they were winless in each of their opening five Premier League contests (W0-D2-L3), failing to even score a goal in their first four encounters.
However, Unai Emery’s men have gone on to win eight of their next nine to move them up into third in the Premier League table, just six points behind their visitors.
The latest of those victories came on Wednesday night, as they came from two goals down to win a seven-goal thriller away at seventh-placed Brighton.
How the bookies view it: Arsenal favourites
Despite drawing each of their last two Premier League clashes away from home, Arsenal have been installed as favourites for this clash, with bet365 pricing an away success at 9/10.
Bet365 have Aston Villa as 10/3 underdogs despite winning eight of their previous nine Premier League encounters, whilst the draw is 5/2.
Head to head: Recent meetings been competitive
This has been a competitive fixture in recent seasons, with both teams winning five of the last 11 meetings, whilst their last clash at the Emirates at the turn of the year was a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch: More magic from Mikel?
Mikel Merino has once again excelled as a make-shift striker for Arsenal in the last few weeks, with the Spanish international scoring four goals and providing three assists in his previous six appearances for the Gunners.
That includes being involved in both goals against Brentford in midweek, as well as a goal contribution in recent draws away at both Sunderland and Chelsea, and the 6/4 on offer at bet365 for him to Score or Assist on Saturday is too big to ignore.
Predicted line-ups:
Aston Villa will be without the injured duo of Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley, whilst goalkeeper Emi Martinez is a doubt after pulling up during the warm-up in their win at Brighton on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta will be without centre-backs Gabriel, William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera due to injury, whilst Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard remain doubts.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers, Malen, Watkins
Arsenal: Raya, White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Rice, Saka, Eze, Merino
Anything else catch the eye?
After failing to score in each of their opening four Premier League fixtures of the campaign, Aston Villa have found the back of the net in nine of their next 10, scoring on 20 occasions.
Arsenal themselves have scored in each of their last 18 matches in all competitions, notching 2+ goals in an impressive 14 (78%) of them.
These two played out a four-goal thriller in the last meeting between the sides at the turn of the year, and given the form both arrive in this fixture in, I like the 10/11 on offer at bet365 for Both Teams to Score.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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