Two of the Premier League's current top three clash this weekend as Aston Villa welcome Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side to Villa Park for this highly anticipated matchup.
Both of these sides secured huge victories in midweek, not least so Villa who completely played current Champions Manchester City off the park in their stunning 1-0 home win.
BET: Aston Villa vs Arsenal latest odds and best bets at DraftKings
In that match, and according to Opta, City attempted just two shots; the fewest ever by a Pep Guardiola team in a game within Europe’s big-five leagues, whilst the 22 shots that the home side recorded was the joint-most faced by a Guardiola side in the same period (his 535th such game).
Arsenal themselves claimed an important three points as Declan Rice netted an injury-time winner away to Luton in a thrilling 4-3 encounter at Kenilworth Road. The visitors will need to do much better defensively in this latest outing though, if they're to claim another win and continue their title charge in style.
The Sporting News previews the game below with our prediction and best bets.
MORE: English Premier League table 2023/24: Updated EPL standings
Aston Villa vs Arsenal match facts
- Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023
- Kickoff time: 5:30 p.m. local (12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT)
- Location: Villa Park (Birmingham, England)
- Last meeting: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal (February, 18, 2023 | Premier League)
Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Draw (+265)
- Score prediction: Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal
| AVL win |
Draw | ARS win |
Both teams to score Y / N |
Over / Under 2.5 goals |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings (USA) |
+240 | +265 | +110 | -170 / +135 | -135 / +110 |
*Odds correct as on December 7.
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Aston Villa vs Arsenal best bet
- Pick: Over 2.5 goals scored
- Odds: -135 (DraftKings)
Although Aston Villa put together a huge defensive display to keep Manchester City out in midweek and limit them to just two shots, we're expecting a different game this time around versus Arsenal.
The Gunners arrive here after hitting Luton for four in midweek and with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all in excellent form of late, the hosts will have their work cut out on this occasion.
At -135 with DraftKings, the over 2.5 goals scored doesn't offer too much value but with Arsenal's defence also looking in disarray following their midweek win, Villa themselves will have plenty of chances here as they look to claim a 15th home league victory in succession!
Aston Villa vs Arsenal flier bet
- Pick: Ollie Watkins and Martin Odegaard to both score anytime
- Odds: +975 (DraftKings)
As we're expecting a high scoring affair here at Villa Park, we've picked a little goalscorer parlay for our flier bet.
At +975 with DraftKings, we've picked Ollie Watkins and Martin Odegaard both to score at anytime during this match and even despite the hefty odds, there's plenty of opportunity for this bet to come in.
Starting with Watkins, heading into this matchday the English striker has eight goals to his name so far this season, a tally that can only be bettered by Erling Haaland, Mo Salah and Son Heung-min. With his tally rising to 13 goals this campaign across all competitions and with four of those coming against London sides, he'll be desperate to add Arsenal to that list over the weekend.
For the opposition, we're picking Martin Odegaard to find the net here after putting together another impressive display against Luton in midweek. He didn't score on that occasion but the Norwegian international does have seven competitive goals under his belt heading into this highly-anticipated fixture which sees him well placed to add another.