Football Previews
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Competition – Barclays Premier League
Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Date: 18th January 2025
Kick-off time – 17:30 GMT
Premier League football returns this weekend with title hopefuls Arsenal hosting top-four-chasing Aston Villa.
The Gunners come into this tie on the back of a comeback win over Tottenham on Wednesday. That result ended a run of three games without a win (D1, L2) for Mikel Arteta’s side, also putting them within four points of leaders Liverpool, albeit having played a game more.
Arteta called the performance against Spurs “outstanding,” and it stretched their unbeaten league run to 11 outings (W7, D4). In fact, the only team to beat the Gunners inside 90 minutes domestically since October is Newcastle who’ve done so twice. That record is built on solid foundations at the Emirates Stadium where the hosts remain unbeaten in the Premier League since losing last season’s corresponding fixture against Aston Villa back in April (W10, D3).
Meanwhile, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will head to his former stomping ground hoping to extend Villa’s recent winning run. The visitors ended 2024 poorly, winning just one of their last four games of the year (D1, L2).
However, Villa have secured three wins in three games this year, with their 1-0 victory over Everton their third by a one-goal margin in succession across all competitions. That result saw them climb into the top seven, with their top-four quest fully back on track, as they are now three points behind fourth-placed Newcastle.
However, they need to make improvements on the road if they’re to push farther than their current position. Villa have won just two of their last eight away matches across all competitions (L6), with four of those six defeats coming by multi-goal margins.
A second successive clean sheet on the road – something they’ve not managed since February – therefore appears unlikely. However, the fact that Emery has fared well against the Gunners since being sacked by them (W3, D1, L2) suggests that another positive outing could be on the cards for Villa on Saturday.
Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:
| April 7, 2025 | ||
| Leicester City | 20:00 | Newcastle United |
| April 12, 2025 | ||
| Manchester City | 12:30 | Crystal Palace |
| Brighton & Hov… | 15:00 | Leicester City |
| Nottingham Forest | 15:00 | Everton |
| Southampton | 15:00 | Aston Villa |
| Arsenal | 17:30 | Brentford |
| April 13, 2025 | ||
| Chelsea | 14:00 | Ipswich Town |
| Liverpool | 14:00 | West Ham United |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 14:00 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Newcastle United | 16:30 | Manchester United |
| April 14, 2025 | ||
| AFC Bournemouth | 20:00 | Fulham |
| April 16, 2025 | ||
| Newcastle United | 19:30 | Crystal Palace |
| April 19, 2025 | ||
| Brentford | 15:00 | Brighton & Hov… |
| Crystal Palace | 15:00 | AFC Bournemouth |
| Everton | 15:00 | Manchester City |
| West Ham United | 15:00 | Southampton |
| Aston Villa | 17:30 | Newcastle United |
Premier League Table
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | G | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 31 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 72 | 30 | +42 | 73 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 31 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 56 | 26 | +30 | 62 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 31 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 57 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 31 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 37 | +17 | 53 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 31 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 40 | +17 | 52 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 31 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 46 | 46 | +0 | 51 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 50 |
| 8 | Fulham | 31 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 48 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hov… | 31 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 47 |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 31 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 45 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 43 |
| 12 | Brentford | 31 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 42 |
| 13 | Manchester United | 31 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 38 |
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 31 | 11 | 4 | 16 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 37 |
| 15 | Everton | 31 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 33 | 38 | -5 | 35 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 52 | -17 | 35 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 43 | 59 | -16 | 32 |
| 18 | Ipswich Town | 31 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 65 | -34 | 20 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 25 | 67 | -42 | 17 |
| 20 | Southampton | 31 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 74 | -51 | 10 |
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