Aston Villa are fighting for their Premier League future as Arsenal come to town tonight.
Villa sit three points from safety with two games remaining, so Dean Smith’s side must either beat Arsenal on Tuesday or West Ham on Sunday to stay up.
As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s side have had a dramatic week, bouncing back from last weekend’s north London derby defeat to first beat champions Liverpool and then reach the FA Cup Final by stunning Manchester City.
The Gunners remain outsiders to qualify for the Europa League, but Arteta will want a strong run-in – and possible FA Cup glory – in a bid to persuade owner Stan Kroenke to back him in the summer transfer market.
Arsenal are in form, but their last two wins have come from sitting deep against teams who have dominated the play.
It will be interesting to see how Arteta adapts, though he may prefer to set up in a similar style given Villa need the win.
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa’s on-loan midfielder Danny Drinkwater could make a first appearance since the restart after recovering from a minor injury.
Kortney Hause is expected to return to the match-day squad but Neil Taylor is sidelined with a hamstring problem.
Arsenal may rotate their squad with Eddie Nketiah available following suspension and Cedric Soares no longer cup tied.
Shkodran Mustafi has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Aston Villa have lost six consecutive Premier League matches against Arsenal, by an aggregate score of 19-3.
Villa are winless in 17 Premier League home fixtures (D7, L10), since a 3-2 triumph on 13 December 1998.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa will be relegated if Watford better their result against Manchester City.
Villa have lost 21 of their 36 Premier League fixtures this season. They have only lost more than 20 Premier League matches on one other occasion, when they were relegated in 2015-16.
They can go three league games unbeaten for only the second time this season.
Villa can win consecutive Premier League home matches for the first time since May 2015 under Tim Sherwood.
However, they have not beaten established top-six opposition (D2, L22) since a 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 11 April 2015.
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Arsenal
Arsenal (53) are guaranteed to end this campaign on their lowest points total for a 38-match Premier League season.
They could finish outside of the top six for just the third time in Premier League history.
The Gunners are unbeaten in 18 of their 20 matches versus teams below them in the table (W10, D8, L2). Both defeats were against Brighton & Hove Albion.
If Arsenal fail to win this match they will end the season with only four away victories, equalling the club record for fewest wins on the road.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 66 goals for Arsenal in all competitions. Since his debut for the club, only Mohamed Salah (68) has scored more among Premier League players.
Nicolas Pepe has been involved in 17 goals in all competitions for Arsenal this season (8 goals, 9 assists) – only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (27) has been involved in more.
PREDICTION: 1-2
