Arsenal vs Aston Villa Preview: Match Preview, Where to watch, Head to Head, Player to watch out for, Match prediction, Betting tips and more | Premier League 2019/20

Arsenal welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates Stadium in a Premier League fixture on 22nd September.

The Gunners come into the game on the back of a topsy-turvy week which has seen them throw away a two-goal lead at Vicarage Road and notch up a 3-0 victory away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

The North London outfit’s patchy form has meant that they’ve been able to accumulate only eight points from their opening five matches, scoring eight goals. However, rather alarmingly, the Gunners have shipped in as many in those encounters, thereby highlighting that their much-documented defensive deficiencies still exist.

Yet, on the back of a clean sheet in Europe, Arsenal would hope to shut out Villa on Sunday, especially considering their superior home record and the latter’s scrappy start to the season.

Dean Smith’s side have given a good account of themselves so far this term but unfortunately, haven’t been able to string together the requisite positive results.

Villa’s last visit to North London came on the opening day of the campaign, where they lost 3-1 to Tottenham, despite enjoying a one-goal cushion for a decent chunk of the game.

Additionally, the Villans drew their previous game against West Ham, a result which kept Smith’s men just above the relegation zone. That is far from impressive, more so because of the enormous spending spree they indulged in over the summer.

Hence, the match on Sunday has plenty riding on it, an encounter made even more interesting considering the off-season optimism has started to dwindle at both clubs, hinting at a touch of impatience and restlessness.

With such proportions involved, the narrative, in all likelihood, would traverse quite a fascinating path.

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Kick-off Information

Date: 22nd September 2019

Time: 04:30 pm (Local time); 09:00 pm IST

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London

Where to Watch: Star Sports Network (India); Sky Sports (UK); NBC Sports Gold (USA)

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Head to Head Record

Total Matches Played: 193 matches

Arsenal: 82 wins

Aston Villa: 66 wins

Draw: 45 draws

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Form Guide (Most recent first)

Arsenal: W-D-D-L-W

Aston Villa: D-L-W-W-L

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Player to watch out for

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang has been in brilliant form

The Gabonese striker has started from where he left off last season and has already scored 5 times in as many games.

Moreover, Aubameyang's importance to the side has increased substantially after Alexandre Lacazette’s injury. However, the Gabonese seems to have shouldered the additional responsibility with aplomb, thriving playing through the middle as opposed to the flanks.

Thus, with a creaky Villan defensive boat lying in wait, one fancies Aubameyang to add to his goal tally, come Sunday.

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Match Prediction

Arsenal’s defensive frailties have come to the fore once again this term and a lot would depend on how tight the home side manages to keep things at the back.

Having said that though, Villa too haven’t blazed themselves in glory on that front and while the Gunners have the offensive firepower to offset their weakness, the Villans fall just a tad short in that regard.

Hence, one can envisage Dean Smith’s troops trying to adopt a slightly more pragmatic approach, with more than one eye on stifling Arsenal’s free-flowing attack.

Yet, that would just play into the Gunners’ hands, in light of the hosts’ superior offensive pedigree and the fact that the game would be played at the Emirates.

Maybe, just maybe, Arsenal can bag their second consecutive clean sheet on Sunday.

Score: Arsenal 2:0 Aston Villa

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Betting Tips

Arsenal win: 1.36

Aston Villa win: 7.50

Draw: 4.50

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