Aston Villa will host the in-form Arsenal at Villa Park this weekend in the Premier League. Villa have just suffered a whopping 5-0 thumping courtesy of reigning English champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last week, and need to win against the
Gunners to lift them up in the league table.
Arsenal are fresh from two consecutive victories; the 5-2 win over Tottenham in the league and last night’s 2-0 victory over French champions Montpellier. The club has now finally found its rhythm and have started playing their usual attacking football.
With the in-form http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Oxlade Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla and striker Olivier Giroud, Arsenal will pose a great threat for Villa, who have only 1 win in their last 6 Premier League games.
Aston Villa will be hoping to take advantage of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429’s defence which is suspect to letting in the odd goal or two. The Gunners have conceded a total of 13 goals in 12 games, despite starting the campaign with three successive clean sheets.
Villa on the other hand have let in 22 goals, and lie in 18th spot in the relegation zone. The game is a must-win for the Clarets, who face a tough task when the Gunners come visit this weekend.
Aston Villas
Expected starting line-up:
Brad Guzan, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christian-Benteke-c9056
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Shay-Given-c33284 out of the team with his impressive performances in front of goal for Villa. The back four remains the same, despite letting in 5 goals last weekend. The impressive Ron Vlaar starts in the centre, and continues to
show that he’s the right choice for the Villa captaincy.
The midfield is also unchanged, with Weimann the man to watch out for. The player impressed two weeks ago by scoring both goals against Manchester United, and will be one of the players to watch out for.
Up front, Christian Benteke starts with Agbonlahor and Westwood on the wings. The Belgian striker restricts http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Darren-Bent-c10358 to the bench as he continues his fine form in the lone striker role.
Arsenal
Expected starting line-up:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lukas-Podolski-c22896, Olivier Giroud.
Arsenal are expected to field the same team out which beat Montpellier 2-0 last night, with Theo Walcott expected to return after getting a week’s rest following his shoulder injury. The winger is still a doubt for the game, and if he does not recover, then
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will start instead.
Szczesny returns for his second successive game in the league, restricting http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vito-Mannone-c36276 to the bench. The Pole had a decent two games and looks fit and confident as he returns from his injury.
The back four remains the same, with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Santos-c32532. Mertesacker and Koscielny will start alongside each other in what looks to be
Arsenal’s strongest back four at the moment. Arsene Wenger will be hoping that his defenders can keep a clean sheet after failing to get on in the last few games.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Abou-Diaby-c3453 is still out injured, with Tomas Rosicky also a long way from first team action. The industrious midfield trio of Wilshere, Cazorla and Arteta will start, proving to be Arsenal’s strongest option in the middle as they get more playing time together
and understand each other.
Olivier Giroud has now managed 6 goals in the last 8 games for the team, and will start in the striker role. If the player does not score, he helps his teammates do so as was clear last night. The Frenchman got both assists as Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 victory.
Podolski will be the winger on the left side, and is also another major threat for the team going forward. The German slotted home a ferocious volley last night, and will be looking to continue his goal-scoring form.
Final Score: 1-3
I expect Arsenal to win fairly comfortably, with Giroud, Podolski and Walcott on the score sheet. Villa will be able to get back a consolation goal through Benteke, but Arsenal will prove to be too strong for the hosts on the night.
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