Premier League: Aston Villa vs Arsenal betting preview

The Premier League is back in full swing and on matchday two we’ll have a tantalizing encounter between two quality clubs as Aston Villa plays host to 2023-24 runners-up Arsenal. The kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 PM ET. The Villains began their campaign on the right foot, beating West Ham on matchday one by a score of 2-1. As for the Gunners, they were also victorious, grabbing three points against Wolves. Continue reading to find the head-to-head info and match preview.

Head-to-head history

While Arsenal has been the more successful side in this matchup, that wasn’t the case last season. Villa completed the double against the Gunners, winning 1-0 and 2-0. Prior to that, however, The North London outfit notched four consecutive victories against the Lions.

Aston Villa

Villa was arguably the biggest surprise of the 2023-24 campaign, finishing in fourth place with a 20-8-10 record. The Lions will play in the Champions League for the first time in their history, which is a massive accomplishment for a rather small club. Ollie Watkins was the star of the show, bagging 19 goals and supplying 13 assists. Leon Bailey also shined in the final third, scoring 10 times and setting up another nine.

Unai Emery’s men picked up where they left off last weekend, putting together an impressive performance against Arsenal. Belgia Amadou Onana scored in his Villa debut to put the visitors ahead early before Lucas Paqueta equalized from the spot. But, Jhoan Duran produced a winner in the 79th minute to send the Lions home with three points.

Villa will surely be feeling confident this weekend considering they handed Arsenal two of their five defeats last term. The Lions also played stellar football on home soil in 2023-24, compiling a 12-4-3 record. Regardless, the hosts are the underdog on matchday two at soccer betting sites.

Arsenal

The Gunners came up just short in the last two Premier League title races, finishing just behind Manchester City. While that’s far from ideal, this club has taken major steps forward in recent seasons. Last term, they made the UCL quarterfinals and only trailed City by two points by the end of the campaign.

Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice, and Gabriel Martinelli were all key players for Arsenal up top in 2023-24. Saka was the main man, netting 16 and assisting nine goals. The Gunners have a wonderful attack, but they were also rock solid at the back. Mikel Arteta’s side conceded a league-low 29 goals.

Their brilliance defensively continued on matchday one, taking down Wolves 2-0. Saka and Havertz produced the goods while the visitors had a mere three shots on target. Although Saturday’s game is only the second of the campaign, Arsenal will definitely have revenge on their mind after failing to score once last season against Villa. The Gunners are -140 favorites at 888sport.

Arsenal have a lot of injury issues, too. Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, Fabio Vieira, and Jorginho are all dealing with health problems. There were a few others also missing from training mid-week. However, we’ll likely see a similar starting XI as the league opener.