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Arsenal travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, as Mikel Arteta's side look to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wolves on Tuesday.
Arteta will feel his side were hard done by against Wolves, after David Luiz got controversially sent off for giving away a penalty. The loss snapped Arsenal's eight-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League, and left the Gunners languishing in 10th on the table.
Aston Villa have been out of sorts after their incredible first half of the season. Dean Smith's side have only managed to win two of their seven games since the turn of the year, losing the other five.
Villa will be going into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham, and will need to turn things around quickly if they are to get anything from the game on Saturday.
With only one point separating the two teams, Saturday's game is sure to be an exciting one, as both Arsenal and Aston Villa are within touching distance of the top 6 in the Premier League.
Aston vs Arsenal Head-to-Head
Surprisingly enough, the recent head-to-head record between the two sides favors the hosts. Aston Villa have won 3 out of the last 5 meetings between the two clubs with Arsenal winning the other two.
Villa put Arsenal to the sword earlier this season, with a 3-0 win at the Emirates stadium, and will be looking to complete the double over the Gunners with a win on Saturday.
Aston Villa Form Guide: L-W-L-W-L
Arsenal Form Guide: W-L-W-D-L
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Team News
Aston Villa
Aston Villa came away from the West Ham game with no new injuries. Kourtney Hause has still not recovered from an injury he picked up in January and will miss the game. Brazilian striker Wesley is still not in contention due to a knee injury.
Injured: Kourtney Hause, Wesley
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Arsenal
Arsenal's midweek fixture against Wolves could not have gone worse. Not only did the Gunners lose the game, but both David Luiz and Bernd Leno received red cards, and will now miss the next few fixtures for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of new signing Mat Ryan, as well as Scottish full-back Kieran Tierney, who are both expected to return to the fray very soon. Pablo Mari is also on the road to recovery, but won't be involved on Saturday.
Injured: Pablo Mari
Doubtful: Kieran Tierney, Mat Ryan
Suspended: David Luiz, Bernd Leno
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Predicted XI
Aston Villa Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Matt Targett; John McGinn, Douglas Luiz; Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley, Bertrand Traore; Ollie Watkins
Arsenal Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alex Runarsson; Cedric Soares, Gabriel, Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey; Nicolas Pepe, Emile Smith-Rowe, Bukayo Saka; Alexandre Lacazette
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Prediction
Arsenal played some lovely football in the first half against Wolves, and should be able to blow away this Villa team if they can reproduce that performance on Saturday. However, Aston Villa are a dangerous side and should be able to take advantage of Arsenal's depleted backline.
Arsenal should have enough to sneak past Aston Villa in the end.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
