Premier League 2022-23: Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Steven Gerard is struggling in the league now they host The Gunners on Wednesday.

Ever since Steven Gerrard took charge of Aston Villa, it just did not feel right. The fans started hating his presence and demanded a change. It's fair to say that Gerrard failed at Villa. His 11-month period at Villa ended with only a meagre 32.5 win percentage. One of the lowest in the club's 149-year history. Fortunately for Villa, former Valencia, Sevilla and PSG manager Unai Emery replaced Gerrard. Since Unai took over Aston Villa, only Arsenal, Manchester United, Brentford and Manchester City have picked up more points.

Arsenal on the other hand are reeling from a defeat against Manchester City. As of now, Arsenal have a game in hand but are one point below Manchester City in the Premier League standings. Manchester City have found their form again and are winning matches without any haste. The pressure is on The Gunners to keep up with Manchester City.

Kick-off :

Wednesday,18-02-2023, 6:00 pm (IST)Wednesday, 18-02-2023, 12:30 pm ( GMT)

Aston Villa Form ( All Competitions): L-W-W-L-L

Arsenal Form ( All Competitions): W-L-L-D-L

Players To Watch:

Aston Villa

Emiliano Martinez

"Dibu", Argentina's hero, and World Cup winner, Emi Martinez is definitely a player to watch out for. Martinez is making crucial saves for Aston Villa and backing his confidence and bravado. Aston Villa will definitely benefit from Emi in the future as well. The Argentine is on a contract with Aston Villa till 2027 and are expecting top offers. Villa will face Arsenal next, a team with great fluidity and excellent attackers. With Emi Martinez in goal, anything can happen, even a clean sheet can be possible.

Arsenal

Bukayo Saka

Ever since missing a crucial penalty in the Euro 2020 finals against Italy, Saka has turned his life around. Bukayo is in great form for The Gunners. He has scored 8 goals and provided 8 assists in 22 Premier League games for Arsenal. Moreover, his attacking threat and dribbling abilities are definitely a threat to Aston Villa.

Match Facts

• Aston Villa won 3 consecutive games against Arsenal from July 2020 to February 2021. Now they are winless in their last 3 Premier League games.

• Arsenal have lost their last 2 away games. The last time they lost 3 in a row without scoring was back in 2009 December.

• Aston Villa have scored only three goals in their last 4 PL matches.

Injury And Team News

Aston Villa on the other hand have some good news. Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos and Bertrand Traore are likely to return against Arsenal. Tyrone Mings was unavailable against Manchester City because of an injury.

Jorginho took Thomas Partey's place as he was out because of a muscle injury. However, the situation is still grave because Partey is still in doubt about the clash against Villa. The same can be said for Emile Smith Rowe who is out because of a thigh injury. He is in doubt about the match against Aston Villa as well. Gabriel Jesus and Mohammad Elneny are confirmed absentees.

Head-to-Head Stats:

Matches: 31

Aston Villa: 6

Draws: 6

Arsenal: 19

Predicted Line-up

Aston Villa Predicted Line-up (4-4-2) :

Martinez, Digne, Mings, Konsa, Young, Buendia, Luiz, Kamara, Ramsey, Watkins, Bailey

Arsenal Predicted Line-up (4-3-3) :

Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka, Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Prediction

Arsenal are really on the verge of messing up their entire progress this season. However Arteta really has built a special team, the game is not over yet. Arsenal definitely have the capability to catch up with Manchester City and possibly overtake them as well. Aston Villa and Unai Emery have a good chance to showcase whether they can beat the big clubs or not. Arteta's Gunners will definitely not make a mistake this time.

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal

Telecast:

India: Hotstar, Star Sports HD

UK: Sky Sports

USA – NBC Sport

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