Aston Villa vs Arsenal – 18/02/2023
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The first fixture to be played in the English Premier League this weekend comes on the 18th of February between Aston Villa and Arsenal.
The game will be played at Villa Park and the hosts begin the weekend in 11th place on 28 points while the visitors are second in the table on 51 points.
? “The players are highly motivated for tomorrow’s game because they want to perform well and win the game.”
◾️ The importance of performing at Aston Villa
◾️ Getting back to winning ways
◾️ The title race? Read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference ?
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 17, 2023
Aston Villa come into the match on the back of a 3-1 defeat at defending champions Manchester City last weekend. Aston Villa conceded goals at both the beginning and end of the first half and their goal came as a consolation in the 61st minute, having already been 3-0 down.
That result means Aston Villa have won 2 of their 6 most recent fixtures in all competitions. The wins came over Leeds United at home and Southampton away in the Premier League, with both of those teams battling against relegation.
Aston Villa have lost 3 of their last 5 matches in all competitions, the defeats have come against Leicester City and Manchester City in the Premier League plus Stevenage in the FA Cup.
Trends show over 2.5 goals have been scored in the 3 most recent home games in all competitions of Aston Villa. Both teams have scored in their last 6 home matches in all competitions but Aston Villa have recorded just 1 win from their 5 most recent home fixtures.
Arsenal travel to Villa Park having lost their crunch match with Manchester City at home in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Arsenal fell a goal behind in the 24th minute but scored the equaliser following the award of a penalty shortly before half time. Manchester City sealed maximum points with two goals in the space of 10 minutes late in the second half.
The defeat to Manchester City means Arsenal have failed to win any of their 4 most recent matches in all competitions. They have lost to Manchester City in the FA Cup and Premier League plus Everton in the Premier League. Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brentford in the Premier League last weekend.
Trends show Arsenal have won 4 of their last 5 away league fixtures and are undefeated in 7 of their last 8 Premier League games on the road. The Gunners have scored 2 or more goals in 3 of their last 4 away league matches and have not lost to Aston Villa in 35 of their 41 most recent games in all competitions.
Team news and Aston Villa are expected to be without the injured trio of Tyrone Mings, Bertrand Traore, and Diego Carlos. Jed Steer is also struggling for fitness.
Arsenal have four players on the treatment table, with Thomas Partey, Emile Smith-Rowe, Mohamed Elneny, and Gabriel Jesus injured.
This is going to be a good test for Arsenal given their recent results and the pressure is building at the top of the table. Aston Villa usually find Arsenal tough to beat and we expect to see them struggle in this game, losing the match with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals in total.
