Revenge will be on Arsenal minds this evening against Aston Villa.
Unai Emery did the double over his old team last season, firstly edging a narrow win at Villa Park as the visitors missed chance after chance before two late goals at the Emirates in the final weeks of the campaign.
Those results are arguably the two more than any other that deprived Arsenal of their first Premier League crown in two decades as they lost out to Manchester City by a margin of just two points.
Arsenal have started as they mean to go on in 2024-25 by downing Wolves on the opening weekend but this trip to the west Midlands represents the first of many huge early tests on their calendar.
Villa struck late in the capital to beat West Ham as they look to go back-to-back in top-four finishes.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Aston Villa vs Arsenal is scheduled for a 5.30pm BST kick-off today, Saturday August 24, 2024.
The match will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Where to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League. Coverage starts at 5pm.
Live stream: Fans can catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from reporter Simon Collings at the ground.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal team news
Jhon Duran is set to have to settle with a spot on the bench again for Villa despite his matchwinner last time out. Jacob Ramsey and Ian Maatsen will also hope their cameos in east London have done enough to gain them a promotion to the starting line-up.
Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are long-term absentees, with Robin Olsen a major doubt.
Arsenal are in talks to sign Mikel Merino but the deal being done before the weekend would almost certainly not result in him starting this game. Eddie Nketiah, meanwhile, could be left out amid the interest in his signature.
Mikel Arteta is likely to stick with an unchanged line-up. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney injured, and Fabio Vieira may be fit to return to the squad if he overcomes a hip issue.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction
Both teams have started well so the safe bet would be a draw that everyone involved can be pretty happy with.
A 1-1 draw.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
There hasn’t been a draw between these two teams since 2012, a run of 18 games. Villa’s double last season came after four consecutive defeats to the Gunners.
Aston Villa wins: 71
Arsenal wins: 87
Draws: 45
Aston Villa vs Arsenal match odds
Aston Villa: 16/5
Arsenal: 3/4
Draw: 27/10
