Arsenal Meets Aston Villa With Title on the Line
Arsenal vs Aston Villa Lines Widely Favor Home Club
Villa Drop Out of Top Four
In a match of supreme importance for both sides, Arsenal take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday. With Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Brighton and Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United, the Gunners returned to the top of the Premier League table. Meanwhile, Villa dropped out of the top four following a wild 3-3 draw vs Brentford. With Arsenal chasing a title and Villa chasing the Champions League, both sides will want all three points. Ahead of this one, we’ll take a closer look at the Arsenal vs Aston Villa lines.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Records: Arsenal (22-5-4), Aston Villa (18-6-8)
Date, Time:
Location: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Stream: USA Network
Arsenal vs Aston Villa Head-to-Head
Aston Villa are just one of four teams to beat Arsenal in a Premier League match this season. At Villa Park in December, John McGinn scored the only goal in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over the Gunners. Despite carrying a 14 game EPL home winning streak into the match, the Arsenal vs Aston Villa lines priced Villa as +230 underdogs. Arsenal had won their previous four games vs. Aston Villa before that one, including a narrow 2-1 victory at the Emirates last season.
Arsenal Dominant in EPL as of Late
Arsenal took on Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter-Final on Tuesday. The Gunners took an early lead, through Bukayo Saka, but defensive mistakes allowed Bayern to take a 2-1 lead at halftime. Leandro Trossard came on as a sub to equalize and the match finished 2-2. Arsenal will be looking forward to the second leg in Munich next Wednesday but Mikel Arteta still needs to name a strong team to face Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Gunners’ recent English Premier League results have been excellent. They’ve won ten of their last 11 EPL matches and have kept three straight clean sheets. Last weekend, they went on the road to Brighton and won 3-0 with goals from Saka, Kai Havertz and Trossard. The Gunners also defeated Luton Town 2-0 last Wednesday in what was a comfortable victory. Arsenal have also averaged over 2.5 goals per game in their last five Premier League matches.
Arsenal also shows the second-best odds to win the EPL title at the moment, at +175 outright odds. They are currently level on points with Liverpool, but with a better goal difference, and one point ahead of Manchester City in the English Premier League table. No Gunners are suspended and just Jurrien Timber is out injured for Sunday’s match.
Villa Grab Midweek Win
Last time out in the Premier League, Aston Villa played in a wild 3-3 draw vs. Brentford. Villa took a 2-0 lead in the match, with goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers but they imploded in the second half. The Bees scored the next three goals of the match before another Watkins header leveled the score. Now, Aston Villa are in fifth place in the Premier League standings.
Villa took on Lille on Thursday in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League and Watkins scored his third header in two matches. It was his 25th goal this season, in all competitions. He’s the first Villa player to reach that threshold in a top-flight campaign since Dwight Yorke, in 1995-96. Captain John McGinn doubled Villa’s lead in the second half but Lille’s Bafode Diakite scored in the 84th minute to get a goal back.
In Villa’s 2-1 victory, goalkeeper Emi Martinez made several key saves. However, Douglas Luiz, a mainstay in Villa’s midfield, is suspended for this match due to yellow card accumulation. Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara, and Emi Buendia are also out for the rest of the season with injuries. Meanwhile, Matty Cash, Jacob Ramsey, and Clement Lenglet are all listed as doubtful.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa Match Analysis & Odds
Aston Villa are 7-4-5 on the road this season but they haven’t beaten a top-half team away from home since November. Not having Luiz in midfield will hurt Villa on Sunday, as he’s scored nine EPL goals and provided five assists this season. That means McGinn and Youri Tielemans are the likely starters at holding midfield and Arsenal could take full advantage.
The Arsenal vs Aston Villa lines list the Gunners as -355 favorites here. Meanwhile, Arsenal -1.5, -2 sits at even odds. Aston Villa +1.5, +2 also shows -120 odds but they are +885 underdogs. Even though Villa are missing some key pieces, Arsenal’s defense will have to be careful with Watkins. Set plays and crosses could be where Villa find some success here.
A draw would certainly hurt Arsenal in their title pursuit and one shows +505 odds. The Gunners are 5-0 in their last five Premier League home matches, though, and have outscored their opponents 16-3 during that time.
For EPL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
