Arsenal travel to face Aston Villa in a tough examination of their title credentials on Saturday evening.
Aston Villa won both fixtures between the teams in the Premier League last season, as The Villans secured Champions League qualification under ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
The Spaniard will hope to put another dent in the aspirations of his old employers this weekend, as both teams look to build on wins in the opening round of Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal XI vs Aston Villa – Predicted lineup and team news
Arsenal Team News
Arsenal enter this weekend’s game in good shape with Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu the only confirmed absentees from Mikel Arteta’s squad. Declan Rice was substituted late in the 2-0 win over Wolves last weekend with cramp but is expected to be passed fit to feature at Villa Park.
Arteta resisted the temptation to throw new signing Riccardo Calafiori into the team last weekend with the £42m recruit from Bologna an unused substitute at the Emirates. Arsenal have had the best defensive record in the Premier League over the last two seasons and opened 2024/25 with another clean sheet. Their form on the road has also been impressive heading into the trip to Aston Villa, with the Gunners unbeaten in nine away games – keeping seven clean sheets – in 2024.
Forward together ✊ pic.twitter.com/boAFOVPvp1
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 23, 2024
Oleksandr Zinchenko started at left-back against Wolves, while Jurrien Timber is pushing for a place in the team. The latter missed almost the entirety of the 2023/24 season after sustaining an ACL injury on his Arsenal debut and will be keen to make up for lost time this season.
Further forward, Kai Havertz picked up where he left off last season with Arsenal’s first goal of the Premier League season and is expected to retain his place ahead of Gabriel Jesus. Leandro Trossard, who impressed in pre-season, could come in for Gabriel Martinelli on the left-hand side.
It was a positive week for Arsenal off the pitch as the Gunners had five players named in the 2023/24 PFA Team of the Year. David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice were all recognised for their performances last season.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Fulham
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal kick-off time and TV channel
Aston Villa v Arsenal will take place on Saturday 24th August at Villa Park.
You can watch the game live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 5pm. Kick-off is 5:30pm.
