The English Premier League heats up for our second week of action, and we will be taking a peek at Saturday’s Match of the Day, as Aston Villa hosts Arsenal. Both squads finished in the Top 4 of the EPL last season, thus qualifying for this year’s UEFA Champions League. Aston Villa will be riding that high as they host a very aggressive Gunners team that looked rock solid in their first match.
Both teams actually came away with 3 points, as Aston Villa took down West Ham United on the road, 2-1. Villa got the scoring going very early as they found the back of the net just 4 minutes into the match. Later in the first half, they conceded a penalty kick, and West Ham equalized before the end of the half. Nevertheless, Aston Villa battled on the road, and were able to find a winner with 11 minutes to go.
Arsenal hosted the Wolverhampton Wanderers and shut them out at Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz scored in the 25th and Bukayo Saka in the 74th as the Gunners doubled the Wolves shot attempts, and won the corner battle, 8-2. Again, Arsenal looked incredible from start to finish, especially on the back line. Aston Villa will certainly need to net a couple in order to win this match at home, but I don’t think they have it in them.
Let’s dive in and find our best bets in this EPL match!
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Match of the Week
Saka and Arsenal are on the road for the first time this EPL season
Matchup Information – Aston Villa vs Arsenal
- Venue & Location: Villa Park (Birmingham, England)
- Date: Saturday, August 24th, 2024
- Kick Off: 12:30pm Eastern
- Broadcast: USA Network
Betting Odds
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Money Line
- Aston Villa +337
- Draw +290
- Arsenal -122
Spread
- Aston Villa +1 (-160)
- Arsenal -1 (+132)
Total
- Over 2.5 (-136)
- Under 2.5 (+113)
Can Aston Villa Hold Off Arsenal Attack?
Can Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa pull off this upset at home?
While Aston Villa got the win against West Ham, they didn’t really outplay them at all. Ollie Watkins played just 62 minutes and didn’t manage to take a single shot. It’s clear that the defense’s attention was on him, and I expect Arsenal to do the same. The Gunners’ backline is led by William Saliba, and with Ben White and Oleksander Zinchenko flanking him, they are set. In my mind, they make sure someone is marking Watkins at all times in order to be extra prepared for a counter attack.
While I expect Aston Villa to be aggressive, knowing they probably won’t shut out Arsenal, they will certainly have their work cut out for them trying to create chances. I imagine them spending most of their time trying to defend the Gunners, who will milk the possession clock and try to give their wingers space to run on the sidelines. They are quite literally stacked up top, with Havertz and Saka, as well as Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Not to mention a midfield including Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard who are very offensive minded.
Betting Against Vegas in This Match
Point being, I think Villa is outmanned in this match, with much more talent being on the Arsenal sideline. Although we don’t have lineups quite yet, I would imagine both of these teams bring their top squads as this is a top tier EPL match up. Vegas certainly thinks Villa will find a goal in this match, as Both Teams to Score is listed at (-155), but I am thinking the opposite happens. Something also worth noting, is the fact that Aston Villa took all 6 points from Arsenal last season, beating them 1-0 at home and 2-0 on the road later in the season. This is statement game for the Gunners, and I think they’ve had this one circled.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Best Bets
Back the Gunners to get it done on the road
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Prediction: Arsenal Wins 2-0 (+1000)
Best Bet: Arsenal to Win to Nil (+250) BetOnline
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Look, this is incredibly juicy, and it’s going to be a hell of a sweat. But to me, it boils down to this. Arsenal is much more talented everywhere on the field besides in the net, they have the better manager, and they looked much better than Villa in their first match. While you could argue that West Ham on the road is a much tougher matchup than hosting Wolverhampton, Villas barely escaped with a win. Arsenal looked very poised for the first week of the season, and I think it only gets better from here.
The Gunners are widely regarded as the team with the best chance to challenge Manchester City, and it starts with getting a tough road win. While I would encourage others to take the ML at (-122) as it is reasonable juice, I am going to be a bit greedy and bet on the shutout as well.
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