Aston Villa vs Arsenal. Premier League.
Villa Park.
Watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 8pm; kick-off 8.15pm
Tuesday 21 July 2020 20:28, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Aston Villa vs Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday (kick-off 8.15pm).
Aston Villa welcome back Kortney Hause for the vital Premier League clash with Arsenal. Hause has been absent with a rib injury but is back in the fold, though Neil Taylor (hamstring) continues to miss out.
Bjorn Engels will miss the final two matches of the season with his Achilles problem and Tom Heaton and Wesley (both knee) are long-term injury victims.
Arsenal will be without Shkodran Mustafi for the trip to Villa Park. The defender suffered a hamstring injury in the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and will miss the game.
Cedric Soares is available after being cup-tied at Wembley while Eddie Nketiah returns following a three-match ban but Pablo Mari (ankle), Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli and Calum Chambers (all knee) are definite absentees.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal is live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 8pm; kick-off 8.15pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Aston Villa played pretty well at Everton. The late Theo Walcott goal was a real slap in the face for them, dropping points so late on. They had to change their style and swamp their defence, but they do have issues doing that. They cannot get themselves over the line in back-to-back games.
It now a game where they have to open up, and that suits Arsenal. They will still make mistakes but their organisation and shape is better. Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin can put Arsenal on the front foot, while Dani Ceballos is erratic but is a bag of energy - Villa will have a problem to see how deep they will play and protect.
Nicolas Pepe has been a bit better, but Buyako Saka could come back in or even Reiss Nelson. I do expect Arsenal to win this - they need to go after a Europa League spot still, especially if they lose to Chelsea in the FA Cup final, who should still get a top four spot. Arsenal want improvement in the Premier League, and it will be another win for them here.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-3 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
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