(Football news) Aston Villa will take on Arsenal in the first Premier League match of the weekend at Villa Park, with both teams looking to bounce back from defeats last week. Unai Emery will have a reunion with his former club and Aston Villa are currently 11th in the Premier League while Arsenal are now second after losing 3-1 against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. As for Aston Villa, despite their heavy defeat against Pep Guardiola’s side, they have been in reasonably good form since Unai Emery took over and they are just three points behind Chelsea and four points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
As for Arsenal, what started as a minor blip against Everton has now become a serious concern as the Gunners haven’t won any of their last three Premier League games and are currently second on goal difference, but have a game in hand. However, Mikel Arteta’s side remain the best performing team on the road this season, conceding just seven goals and defeating Villa 1-0 in the same fixture last year.
In team news, Aston Villa will be without Diego Carlos who continues to recover from an achilles surgery while Jed Steer is also recovering from a calf problem. Bertrand Traore appears to have recovered from a knee injury while Tyrone Mings should also be available for selection, whose return could mean that Calum Chambers will be benched. Alex Moreno could also replace Lucas Digne in the starting lineup.
As for Arsenal, Thomas Partey could feature in this fixture after being dropped for the Manchester City match due to a muscle injury. If he doesn’t feature in the starting lineup, Mikel Arteta can depend on former Chelsea player Jorginho who performed well against the reigning champions last week while Mohamed Elneny and Gabriel Jesus are out due to knee injuries but Emile Smith Rowe (thigh) should be back in the squad. Ben While could replace Takehiro Tomiyasu in the starting lineup while Leandro Trossard also has the opportunity of being picked over Gabriel Martinelli.
Also read: Struggling Liverpool take on 4th placed Newcastle away from home
