Prediction: Aston Villa vs Arsenal

20th December 2011

Aston Villa will be looking to avoid the third successive defeat at Villa Park when they play host to Arsenal, but that may not be so easy to accomplish. The Gunners aim to return to winning ways after their title hopes went out in smoke following the unlucky defeat to Manchester City.

The arrival of Alex McLeish did bring some stability to the club that had suffered a lot the previous season, even if the decision to appoint the former Birmingham manager caused a lot of controversy among the fans. Big Eck helped revive players like Stephen Warnock, Fabien Delph and Gabriel Agbonlahor, and they all played a part in team’s bright start to the season, but somewhere in mid October, the Villans suffered a big dip in form and have been unable to recover from it ever since. Victories over Premier League strugglers Norwich and Bolton did help Villa stay above the danger zone, but dismal results against the top table sides are something that should have Alex McLeish seriously worried before the Arsenal clash. While losing to Manchester City and Tottenham away, Aston Villa also lost home games to Manchester United and Liverpool, hinting that they may not have enough quality and character to match the best sides in the league. The hosts are hoping the return of Darren Bent is going to help bring some improvement to the scoring department after Villa failed to score in four of their last five games, with Emile Heskey expected to be dropped.

The game against Premier League leaders Manchester City proved that Arsenal have come a long way since the disastrous start to the season, and, despite the narrow defeat, the Gunners can be proud with their performance at Etihad Stadium. While Arsene Wenger’s side may not have been at their best, they never really allowed Manchester City to put their tremendous attacking potential to good use, even if they did concede one goal. On the other hand, they managed to test Joe Hart on a number of occasions and certainly deserved to score at least one goal. The defeat probably served as a farewell to Arsenal’s title hopes, but the Gunners are aware they need to work hard if they want to achieve Champions League qualification, and will give their best to win this game. Youngster Miguel is expected to start after Johan Djourou joined the lengthy injury list, whereas Tomas Rosicky is expected to deputize for Alex Song, who misses out through suspension.

Conclusion

Aston Villa were utterly disappointing in the 2:0 defeat to Liverpool and were very lucky not to concede at least few more goals. Arsenal, on the other hand, held their own at Etihad Stadium and in spite of the fact that selection problems continue for Arsene Wenger, I am positive that the Gunners will emerge triumphant.

Verdict: Away win Arsenal (2)

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: Paddy Power