Aston Villa vs Arsenal Preview: Team News & Prediction

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On the eve of the transfer deadline, Aston Villa, a team in flux, now come up against the champions Arsenal at Villa Park on Monday in the Premier League.

Kick-off date/time: 31 August 2026 at 8:00 pm

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – USA Network

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – DirecTV Stream

Aston Villa preview: Villans in flux

Emiliano Martinez, at the time of writing, it set to depart the club with Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins all having been sold as Unai Emery gets his teeth sunk into a new project in Birmingham.

Aston Villa began their season with a hard-fought 2-1 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg before being hammered 4-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion to kick off their Premier League campaign.

Arsenal preview: Beginning with ease

Arsenal have again spent relatively big, including the signing of Villa’s Ezri Konsa, with Mikel Arteta’s side keen on another big name attacker, potentially Julian Alvarez, coming in to help them win multiple trophies after winning the Premier League last season.

After winning silverware with a 3-0 defeat of Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium, Arsenal then eased to a comfortable 3-0 defeat of newly-promoted Coventry City on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Aston Villa team news: Jackson could play

Unai Emery confirmed the arrival of Nicolas Jackson in his pre-match press conference and there are suggestions that the Senegal international striker signed in time to feature here.

Joao Gomes is now missing through suspension after being sent off last week, while Amadou Onana, Johan Manzambi, Brian Madjo and Leon Bailey remain sidelined. It could well be Emery opts to play both Matteo Ruggeri and Ian Maatsen on the left-hand side to combat Arsenal's impressive right-wing.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Ruggeri; Kamara, Barkley; McGinn, Buendia, Maatsen; Jackson

Unavailable: Gomes (Suspended), Onana (Injured), Manzambi (Injured), Bailey (Injured), Madjo (Injured)

Questionable: Abraham (Injured)

Arsenal team news: Konsa could start

Mikel Arteta has suggested that Ezri Konsa is ready to start against his former side and he could well come in for Cristhian Mosquera alongside Gabriel at the back.

Bruno Guimaraes was expected to be sidelined for a while but Arteta also said that he could also 'potentially' be available after a hamstring injury.

Predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Tzolis

Unavailable: Saliba (Injured), Timber (Injured)

Questionable: Guimaraes (Fitness)

Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction

Aston Villa and Unai Emery have and has previously been a thorn in the side of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, including a 2-1 victory for The Villans in this fixture in mid-December last year. However, they are a team that, again like last season, are likely to start very slowly. As a result, Arsenal, already into their groove, would appear a decent bet to ease themselves to another victory at the start of this season.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal tip: Arsenal to win