Aston Villa v Arsenal: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Premier League, Round 2

Aston Villa AST

31/08/2026 20:00

Arsenal ARS

Villa Park

J. Gillett

Arsenal will play their first away game of the 2026-27 Premier League season on Monday evening when they travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa.

The reigning champions made an excellent start to their title defence with a 3-0 win over Coventry City, while Villa suffered a nightmare opening weekend as they were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton.

Arsenal entered the new season among the favourites to retain their Premier League title, and their opening two competitive matches have done little to weaken those expectations.

Mikel Arteta’s side began their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield before producing another convincing performance against Coventry in their league opener.

Arteta will also be taking charge of his 250th Premier League match on Monday evening, although his side face an opponent who have caused them problems at Villa Park in recent seasons.

Villa have won three consecutive Premier League home matches against reigning champions, defeating Manchester City twice before overcoming Liverpool last season.

However, Unai Emery’s side could hardly have made a worse start to the new campaign.

Villa were beaten 4-0 by Brighton at the Amex Stadium, with Fabian Hurzeler’s side scoring all four goals before half-time.

Villa will be hoping that their strong recent home record against reigning champions can outweigh the gulf in form between the two teams.

The Premier League Table

Premier League 2026

England

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Manchester City	2	2	0	0	6	2	4	6	W W
2	Hull City	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6	W W
3	Newcastle	2	1	1	0	4	2	2	4	W D
4	Everton	2	1	1	0	3	1	2	4	D W
5	Brighton	1	1	0	0	4	0	4	3	W
6	Arsenal	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3	W
7	Brentford	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3	W
8	Chelsea	1	1	0	0	3	2	1	3	W
9	Ipswich	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	W
10	Leeds	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3	W
11	Liverpool	2	0	2	0	4	4	0	2	D D
12	Bournemouth	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1	D L
13	Nottingham Forest	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1	D L
14	Fulham	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0	L
15	Sunderland	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0	L
16	Manchester United	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0	L
17	Aston Villa	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0	L
18	Coventry	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4	0	L L
19	Crystal Palace	2	0	0	2	1	6	-5	0	L L
20	Tottenham	2	0	0	2	0	5	-5	0	L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
• Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship

Team News for Aston Villa v Arsenal

Aston Villa could hand debuts to both Nicolas Jackson and Leon Goretzka after the pair were registered in time for Monday’s match.

Joao Gomes is suspended after receiving a red card against Brighton and will begin a three-match ban.

Amadou Onana remains unavailable with a knee injury, while there have been no significant updates on Johan Manzambi and Brian Madjo, who are also expected to remain sidelined.

Ollie Watkins has completed his move to Al-Hilal, leaving Jackson as the leading candidate to replace him at centre-forward.

For Arsenal, new signing Ezri Konsa is available to make his debut against his former club after completing his move to North London.

However, the defender is unlikely to immediately displace Arteta’s preferred back four.

Bruno Guimaraes is also in contention after recovering from a minor injury which ruled him out of the opening-day victory over Coventry. Arteta has confirmed that the midfielder has returned to training.

Jurrien Timber remains sidelined with a groin problem, while William Saliba continues to recover from a back injury.

Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are also expected to be left out amid uncertainty surrounding their futures at the Emirates.

Expected line-ups for Aston Villa v Arsenal

Aston Villa: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Ruggeri; Bogarde, Kamara; Buendia, Barkley, McGinn; Jackson

Arsenal: Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Stats for Aston Villa v Arsenal

• Arsenal have won their last four opening away matches of a Premier League season.
• Arsenal have scored six goals and conceded none across their two competitive matches this season.
• Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield before defeating Coventry City 3-0 in the Premier League.
• Aston Villa lost their opening Premier League match 4-0 to Brighton.
• Villa have won their last three Premier League home matches against reigning champions.
• Aston Villa have won four of their last seven Premier League home meetings with Arsenal.
• Arsenal won 4-1 in the most recent meeting between the sides at the Emirates, after Villa had won 2-1 at Villa Park earlier in the season.
• Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four opening away matches of a Premier League season.
• Villa were already 4-0 down at half-time against Brighton and finished the match with 10 men.
• Monday’s match will be Arteta’s 250th Premier League game as Arsenal manager.

Where to Watch Aston Villa v Arsenal: TV and online streams

Aston Villa v Arsenal will take place at Villa Park on Monday, August 31, with kick-off at 8pm BST.

The match is being shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage beginning at 6.30pm. The fixture is also listed for Sky Sports Main Event Ultra HDR for compatible viewers.

Prediction for Aston Villa v Arsenal

Match Prediction

Aston Villa

0 – 2

Arsenal

Aston Villa’s record against reigning champions at Villa Park makes this a more difficult fixture for Arsenal than their opening-day victory over Coventry might suggest.

However, the contrast between the two sides’ opening performances was significant. Arsenal have already scored six goals without conceding, while Villa were dismantled by Brighton and will now have to cope with the absence of the suspended Joao Gomes.