Aston Villa v Arsenal: Line-ups, stats and preview

Aston Villa v Arsenal preview

Premier League leaders Arsenal have a tough task on their hands in the early Saturday kick-off when they face in-form Aston Villa.

The Gunners head into the weekend with a five-point advantage over Manchester City but Villa are third having won their last four league games.

Villa boss Unai Emery told BBC WM: “They are clear favourites to win the league. We are only fighting to compete as well as possible, which is very difficult.

“At the beginning of the season, we were targeting being in the European positions. Our poor start gave us frustration. We were not performing well and getting points.

“We played at home against Wolves and it was very difficult to beat them. We did not feel like favourites against Wolves, Brighton or Arsenal.

“Maybe it can be seen differently from the outside but, for us, the Premier League is very difficult. We must be humble in order to avoid our weaknesses and also [use] our power.”

Aston Villa v Arsenal team news

Villa are waiting on the fitness of goalkeeper Emi Martinez who missed the win at Brighton on Wednesday with a back injury. Marco Bizot is on standby to start again.

Midfielder Ross Barkley and defender Tyrone Mings are out until 2026 with injury.

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus returned as an unused substitute against Brentford after 11 months out with a knee injury, but centre-back Gabriel remains absent with a thigh issue sustained while playing for Brazil in a friendly against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium.

Striker Kai Havertz has a knee injury, while forward Leandro Trossard, defenders William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera and midfielder Declan Rice are doubts.

Aston Villa v Arsenal predicted lineups

Aston Villa starting XI: Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Buendia, McGinn, Rogers; Watkins

Arsenal starting XI: Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze

How to watch Villa v Arsenal: TV channel, online live streams

Kick-off on Saturday is at 12:30 GMT (07:30 ET / 04:30 PT), with live TV coverage in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Aston Villa v Arsenal stats

• Helped by a 70% victory ratio in the Europa League, Emery won 55% of the games during his tenure at Arsenal, which began in May 2018 and ended in November 2019 after a seven-match winless run
• Villa have not conceded at home in the league in more than four hours and 42 minutes of football, last doing so in their 2-1 win over Burnley on October 5
• They have won eight straight home games in all competitions since a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on August 31
• Only Arsenal (19) and Manchester City (18) have bettered Villa’s total of 16 points at home in the league in 2025/26, while the Gunners (2) are the sole team to have conceded fewer than the Villans (5) in their own stadium
• Of the players to have scored at least four goals in this season’s division, only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (1.11), Brentford’s Igor Thiago (0.87) and Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi (0.88) have averaged more goals per 90 minutes than Villa’s Donyell Malen (0.77)
• Arsenal have conceded four fewer goals (7) than any other side in this season’s Premier League
• Their expected goals allowed total of 7.2 is the best in the division and 7.9 ahead of their next-nearest rivals in that respect, Manchester City
• They have have won 11 and lost one of their last 21 league games on the road
• Arteta’s team have won 16 of the 17 games in all competitions in which they’ve led this season, as well as all 15 when they’ve scored the opener
• Only Chelsea and Liverpool have attempted (3.274) and completed (2,916) more passes between 15 and 30 yards in distance in this season’s Premier League

Aston Villa v Arsenal prediction

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