Match Preview
Arsenal vs Aston Villa: Match details, team news & probable lineup
Arsenal play host to Aston Villa on Sunday night, the final Premier League fixture before the international break.
Arsenal will be hoping to continue with their winning ways when they play host to Aston Villa. Last week the they picked up a 1-0 win at Old Trafford ending their away win-less run against the big six and beating Manchester United in the league away for the first time since 2006.
On Thursday Arsenal enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 win over Molde in the Europa League, taking them to 9 points from 3 games.
Match Details:
Kick Off: Sunday 19:15 (UK time)
Venue: Emirates stadium
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Previous encounters: Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal, Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa, Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa.
Team News:
Arsenal’s injury list has reduced to just four players (Martinelli, Nelson, Mari and Chambers). Mikel Arteta will have a bit of a selection headache with the return of David Luiz who was in good form before his injury while Rob Holding was excellent against Man United.
Nicolas Pepe is a serious contender on the right side after his exploits in the Europa League and had a better game than Willian who also started.
Elneny has massively improved and could now be a starter for Arsenal. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Xhaka and Ceballos may have played well on Thursday but it may not be enough to dispose Elneny who put up a great performance last weekend.
Probable XI:
Leno;
Holding, Gabriel, Tierney;
Bellerin, Elneny, Partey, Saka;
Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Aston Villa can be a tricky side on their day they thumped Liverpool 7-2, though they’ve lost their last two games.
Level on points with Arsenal despite having a game in hand. Villa have dangerous players like Grealish, McGinn, Barkley and Watkins. Former Arsenal goalie Emi Martinez could also decide to frustrate his former side.
