Arsenal vs Aston Villa Bet Builder Tips: Duran to do damage on return

A 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium last April proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Arsenal's 2023/24 Premier League title bid as despite winning their last five games, the Gunners finished two points behind champions Manchester City. Mikel Arteta's side beat the Villans 2-0 at Villa Park in August but will want to banish their demons at home against Unai Emery's charges when they clash in north London on Saturday (17:30, Sky Sports Main Event).

Read on for my Arsenal vs Aston Villa Bet Builder tips as I draw up a four-legged effort paying at 14/1.

Football Odds

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Odds

Jhon Duran (AVL) Anytime Goalscorer

Jhon Duran returned to Aston Villa's squad on Wednesday following a three-game ban but, surprisingly, didn't manage to get on the field at Goodison Park in his side's 1-0 win over Everton. The 21-year-old hasn't featured since receiving a red card 32 minutes into Villa's 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Boxing Day, and with Ollie Watkins scoring his first non-penalty goal for nearly two months in midweek, the Colombian may have to wait even longer for another start.

I don't see Duran missing out on minutes for a second successive game, though, so even if Emery doesn't start him, I'd expect Villa's top scorer this season to play at least 20 or 30 minutes at the Emirates, which as he's proven plenty of times in 2024/25, is more than enough time for him to make an impact.

Duran has scored 12 goals in all competitions for his club this term and seven of them have been as a second-half substitute, while his most recent effort came against Man City as a starter on December 21.

He can score all types of goals and even with limited game time on Saturday, I fancy him to net past an Arsenal backline that has kept just one clean sheet in their last eight games.

Aston Villa or Draw - Double Chance

Arsenal won the reverse fixture 2-0 at Villa Park in August but were made to work for their victory as it took the Gunners 67 minutes to open the scoring through Leandro Trossard before Thomas Partey doubled their lead 10 minutes later.

That triumph ended two games without a point against Villa, who had their number last season as they won 2-0 at the Emirates, four months after Emery masterminded a 1-0 success in Birmingham.

Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the north London derby on Wednesday but an injury-hit Spurs were poor and the Gunners had failed to win their three previous games in all competitions prior to that victory, drawing 1-1 at Brighton in the Premier League before a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat to Newcastle United (0-2) and a penalty shootout loss to Manchester United (1-1) in the FA Cup third round, the latter two of which were at the Emirates.

Saturday's hosts are still missing Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Ben White, among others, and while Villa are without John McGinn, Pau Torres and Ross Barkley, I think Emery's side can cope more easily without that trio compared to Arsenal, so I'm taking the double chance result on the visitors this weekend.

Morgan Rogers (AVL) 2+ Fouls

The third leg of this Bet Builder requires Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers to commit at least two fouls, something he has done in his last four games including all three in the Premier League post-Christmas. The 22-year-old is averaging 1.4 fouls per game in the English top flight and will be key for Villa on Saturday, pressing from the front and harrying the opposition as the visitors look to win the ball high up the pitch.

Arsenal - Most Corners

Where else do we end with Arsenal but corners? It was their route to goal for their opening effort against Spurs in midweek and has been a consistent source of joy for them this season. The Gunners are averaging 6.4 corners per game this season and have won the corner count in all but one of their eight Premier League home games, falling short only against leaders Liverpool in a 2-2 draw on October 27.

Villa (137) are one of just three clubs to have taken more corners than Arsenal (135) this season but have lost the corner count in five of their nine away matches including their last three.

Offers

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