Aston Villa has the home advantage of Villa Park in the reception of Arsenal. However, with the stability of the force and good form from the beginning of the season, "The Gunners" are rated higher and have the opportunity to break the jinx against coach Unai Emery's team.
Aston Villa and Arsenal are going through quite opposite periods. While Arsenal continues to consolidate their forces and aim to compete for titles, Aston Villa faces no small changes after last season.
After finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the Europa League title, coach Unai Emery began the process of rebuilding the squad. Aston Villa has added some notable factors to increase the depth of the force.
Leon Goretzka joined the team on a free transfer, while Nicolas Jackson is expected to bring more options for the attack. Notably, Jackson once had an effective period playing under Emery's leadership at Villarreal.
Nicolas Jackson is likely to be given the opportunity to start against Arsenal, in the context that Aston Villa is having problems in the striker position. Emi Buendia once had to take on this role in the 0-4 defeat to Brighton last weekend.
In the opposite direction, Arsenal entered the season with better preparation. After winning the Premier League title and only a penalty shootout away from the Champions League title, coach Mikel Arteta's team continued to increase the squad depth.
Arsenal has also recruited Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa. This center-back may make his debut for the new team right at Villa Park, in the confrontation with his old team.
Mikel Arteta once succeeded Unai Emery as Arsenal coach in December 2019. However, Villa Park is still not an easy destination for the "Gunners".
Since 2019, Aston Villa has won 4 out of 7 home games against Arsenal. Notably, the Villa Park home team has won all 3 recent matches against the reigning Premier League champions at home.
However, Arsenal also has notable away statistics. The "Gunners" have won their first away match of the season in the last 4 seasons and have kept a clean sheet in those matches.
Current form is also supporting Arsenal. Coach Mikel Arteta's team won two consecutive victories with the same score of 3-0 against Manchester City and Coventry. This is a positive start for Arsenal to aim for their third consecutive victory in the Premier League.
Aston Villa therefore needs to maximize their home advantage, while limiting gaps in defense. Meanwhile, Arsenal can continue to promote ball control and strength in attack to make a difference.
With better form and highly rated force, Arsenal has a basis to aim for 3 points at Villa Park. However, the history of head-to-head matches at this stadium shows that "The Gunners" must not be subjective.
The match between Aston Villa and Arsenal will take place at 2:00 AM on September 1st (Vietnam time).
Expected lineup
Aston Villa: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Ruggeri; Bogarde, Kamara; Buendia, Barkley, McGinn; Jackson.
Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz.
