Aston Villa travel to the Emirates to face Premier League leaders Arsenal, on Tuesday night, in what could prove to be a crucial clash in the title race. Unai Emery's side can draw level on points with Arsenal should they win, while Mikel Arteta will be hoping to put the pressure on Manchester City for once, with Pep Guardiola's side playing later.
Arsenal come into this game on the back of a nervy 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw them retain their two-point lead over City at the top of the table. Villa, meanwhile, needed a brace from substitute Ollie Watkins, to notch up a comeback 2-1 win away to Chelsea, thus extending their winning run to 11 games.
Villa have the opportunity to do the double over Arsenal this season, having beaten them 2-1 with an injury-time winner earlier this month in Birmingham.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be broadcast / live-streamed on Sky Sports Premier League in the UK, NBC Sports / Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 8:15 p.m. GMT (4:15 p.m. ET; 1:45 a.m. IST, Wednesday and 6:15 a.m. AEST, Wednesday)
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
Referee: Darren England
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Injury and Team News:
Declan Rice is out injured. Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Saliba are back.
Arsenal
Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Odegaard, Rice, Merino, Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard
Aston Villa
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Lindelof, Konsa, Digne, Tielemans, Buendia, Onana, Bogarde, Rogers, Sancho
Talking Points:
How sustainable is Arsenal walking an emotional tightrope in every game?
A penalty shoot-out in their Carabao Cup quarterfinal and single-goal margin of victories in their last three Premier League games have left Arsenal fans with nary a nail left to chew on. It doesn't help that their next fixture is against a Villa side that have won 11 consecutive games in all competitions.
Arteta underlined his team's heightened emotional state post the win over Brighton, saying "It's the willingness to win. We all want to win so badly, that it's like, 'no, I don't want to lose what I have.' It has fed into the crowd at the Emirates, and even a 2-0 lead doesn't seem as comfortable anymore. Brighton nearly capitalized, and were a Raya fingertip-save away from earning a draw.
Villa's penchant for comebacks and their xG overperformance saw them beat Arsenal 2-1 in injury time earlier this month, and we could be set for a repeat showing. Yes, Arsenal are strong at home, but the emotional fatigue of nervy wins to overtake Manchester City will catch up with them sooner rather than later.
Aston Villa's winning run faces its biggest obstacle
It feels curious to say about a team that's on a 11-game winning run and can draw level with PL leaders Arsenal with a win, but Villa's statistical numbers are mid-table at best. Yes, the only stat that truly matters is points on the table, but Emery ought to be mildly concerned.
Villa have conceded 25.4 xg (13th in the PL) but have let in only 19 goals, while they have massively overperformed their attacking xG, scoring 29 goals from 19.9 xG (15th in the PL). Now, the usefulness of expected goals as a stat takes a massive hit when bottom-of-the-table Wolves (16) have more xG than contenders for top four, Sunderland (14.7). Yet, eventually, over the course of a season these anomalies average out. Winning runs end. xG overperformance returns to the mean.
Emery's side now travel to the Emirates in the knowledge that only Manchester City have taken points off Arsenal at home all season in all competitions (Palace did earn a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup quarterfinal). Arsenal have let in just six goals at home from 14 games in all competitions this season. This isn't going to be easy for Villa, even if they have a victory and a draw in their last two visits to Arsenal.
Is Arsenal's injury misfortune down to Arteta?
Jurrien Timber picked up an injury before the game against Brighton, while Riccardo Calafiori also went off injured during the warm-up. Gabriel Magalhaes returned to the pitch as a substitute, but Arsenal's defence looks increasingly threadbare. Arteta has previously spoken about the vicious cycle of injury clusters in the same position, where his fit players have to overplay due to injuries to other players, which then results in them eventually getting injured themselves, as the cycle continues.
And yet, Myles Lewis-Skelly made his first Premier League start of the season against Brighton, despite have 11 previous appearances as a substitute - which totalled a paltry 195 minutes. As much as Arteta bemoans the vicious cycle of injuries - he's played his own part in it. Substitutions have been left too late in the game, and a reluctance to trust very good backup options has seen the injuries to the squad come in clusters.
William Saliba has played every minute of Arsenal's last four games, and with a crucial game against Villa to come, may end up playing 450 minutes of football in just 16 days. Arteta can point to a lack of options, but would the immensely talented Marli Salmon have looked out of place in the Carabao Cup - a competition that won't stop Arteta's naysayers even if Arsenal win it?
In a crucial festive period in the Premier League, Arteta's reluctance to rotate might be what become the difference between a drought-ending title and second again.
Emery might be better off leaving Watkins on the bench again
Ollie Watkins has started in six of Villa's 11-game winning run, with Emery rotating between his English striker and Donyell Malen regularly. Having come on as a substitute against Chelsea to make a match-winning impact with a brace, the odds are that a rested Watkins will lead the line against Arsenal.
Yet, Emery might be better off repeating the script that he used to winning effect against Chelsea at Arsenal as well. Villa were under the cosh in the first half against Chelsea, and were lucky to go into the break just 1-0 down. Experienced heads remained cool, and Emery's substitutes on the hour-mark transformed the game as they went on to win 2-1.
Seven of the last 10 goals Arsenal have conceded have come in the second half of the game, with four of those seven being scored in injury time. Arteta's side have faded badly in second halves of games, no matter the scoreline or the opposition, and Emery could play a blinder if he holds a bit in reserve. Watkins did miss two very presentable chances against Arsenal earlier this month, but having found his scoring touch against Chelsea, his tireless endeavour would be the last thing a tired, injury-hit Arsenal backline would want to deal with in the second half.
Is it time for Arteta to drop Gyökeres?
Arsenal have taken their time to get used to Viktor Gyökeres, but halfway into the Premier League season, the Swede still looks a disjointed figure from the rest of his teammates. Two of his seven goals have come from the spot, another two from set-piece scrambles in the box, one from a scuffed deflection, one from a solo effort, and perhaps only one at the end of a team-move, against Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest.
That goal against Forest was perhaps what Arteta was envisioning when Gyökeres was signed, but that's a poor return from 21 appearances this season. While the Swede appears to be doing a good job in occupying defenders, he's only won 36% of his duels - 68% of PL strikers have done a better job. He's not made a single assist all season, and has rarely looked on the same page as Arsenal's creative outfit behind him.
Steve Nicol discusses Arsenal's offensive struggles in the final third after their win over Brighton.
Arteta's side have generated 9.27 xG over the last four games, which has only resulted in one open play goal by an Arsenal player. While his side has scored six goals in that period, Arteta will be concerned that four of those have been own-goals, and one a Gyökeres penalty. Kai Havertz is only days away from a return, and Arsenal looked a far more fluid outfit with Gabriel Jesus leading the line. It might be time to let Gyökeres recede to the background for a bit - because it's clearly not working.