Premier League preview and odds: Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Published on: 11/12/2015

Premier League preview and odds: Aston Villa vs Arsenal

December 13, 2015 13:30pm - Villa Park

Premier League

Rock Bottom Aston Villa will be looking to avoid defeat for the third time in five games on Saturday when they welcome second-ranked Arsenal to Villa Park in the Barclays Premier League.

Slight improvement from Villa

When Remi Garde took over as Villa boss, the team had lost nine of their ten previous games. Since his arrival, they have drawn two and lost two. Despite the very slight improvement, Villa are still looking for that elusive first win under their new boss.

They come into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Southampton in which they bagged their first away point in seven games. They remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, seven points adrift of safety.

Gunners boosted by Euro triumph

Arsenal are on a high after beating the odds on Wednesday and qualifying for the knockout phase of the Champions League with a 3-0 victory in Greece. They must now turn their attentions back to their domestic campaign as they go in search of their first away win since the end of October.

Last time out, Arsene Wenger`s men beat Sunderland 3-1 at home to end a three-game winless streak. On their last trip away from the Emirates they shared the points after playing out a 1-1 draw with Norwich. Prior to that they fell 2-1 away from home to West Bromwich Albion.

The Gunners could go top of the table with a win on Sunday as leaders Leicester do not play until Monday night.

Team news

Villa could welcome back Rudy Gestede, Carlos Sanchez and Leandro Bacuna, however, Micah Richards, Jordan Amavi and Gary Gardner are still absent.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will continue to operate without the services of key men Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and Danny Welbeck.

Recent form (League)

Aston Villa: DLLDL

Arsenal: WDLDW

Betting odds and tips

Arsenal are clear favourites for this game but they could be suffering from a European hangover after their midweek exploits. Their last two away games against bottom-half clubs have not ended with positive results and they are still having to cope without several key players.

Aston Villa managed to draw at home to Manchester City recently and drew away to Southampton last time out. The stalemate is available at 7/2 with Bet365 and could be a worth a punt.

Published on: 11/12/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (11/12/2015 11:20:30) but are subject to change.