Arsenal vs Aston Villa Prediction: Gunners continue title resurgence

Unai Emery returns to his old stomping ground on Saturday afternoon (17:30, live on Sky Sports Main Event) as Aston Villa travel to the Emirates to take on Arsenal.

Both sides tasted victory in midweek as the Gunners closed the gap to league leaders Liverpool with a 2-1 win in the North London derby, while Villa handed David Moyes a 1-0 loss on his return to the Everton dugout. Read on for my Arsenal vs Aston Villa prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Gabriel Jesus suffered an ACL injury in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United last weekend, and that issue looks set to keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.

The former Manchester City forward will be joined in the treatment room by Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Riccardo Calafiori faces a race against time to recover from a muscle problem.

As for Villa, Pau Torres, John McGinn and Ross Barkley remain absent, while Emery confirmed that Diego Carlos suffered a knock in the win over Everton, meaning the Brazilian could also sit this one out.

New signing Donyell Malen could make his Villa debut on Saturday, while Jhon Duran is yet to feature in the Premier League in 2025.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Odds

The Gunners are 1/2 to claim another crucial victory in the context of the Premier League title race, giving them an implied win probability of 66.7%, with the draw being available to back at 100/30. Villa, who ran out 2-0 winners at the Emirates last season, are 6/1 to take all three points, and a repeat of that scoreline is priced up at 33/1.

Kai Havertz leads the anytime goalscorer market at 13/8, and Ollie Watkins is the shortest-priced for the visitors at 5/2.

Arsenal to win and both teams to score - yes @ 11/5

After a difficult start to 2025, Mikel Arteta will be hoping his side's 2-1 win over fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur is the catalyst to getting their title challenge back on track.

The Gunners closed the gap to top-of-the-table Liverpool to four points with their win on Wednesday night, although the Reds do have a game in hand. Despite their win, clean sheets continue to elude Arteta's side. They've conceded in seven of their last eight in all competitions, and both teams to score has landed in six of those contests.

Villa's win at Goodison Park in midweek made it four games without defeat for Emery's men, and they'll fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet in the capital considering they've netted on seven occasions during this run.

However, Villa's away form makes for poor reading, losing five of their last six road trips in the league, so I'm backing a Gunners win and BTTS on Saturday.

Martin Odegaard 1+ shots on target @ 4/5

After missing the early part of the campaign due to injury, Martin Odegaard has been a mainstay in the Arsenal midfield and continues to be a valuable asset to the Gunners.

The former Real Madrid midfielder has registered at least one shot on target in each of his last two appearances for Arteta's side, which makes him an appealing option once again here.

In 14 league appearances this term, the Norway international has racked up 21 shots, with eight of them landing on target which averages out at 0.6 per 90 minutes.

Therefore, I'm taking the 26-year-old to hit the target at least once on Saturday.

Offers

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