Aston Villa vs Arsenal prediction: Watkins can help Villa pinch a point off leaders

Arsenal can open up an eight-point gap at the top of the Premier League table if they beat Aston Villa in Saturday’s early kick-off at Villa Park (12:30pm, TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+).

The lead might only be for a few hours, though, with second-placed Manchester City hosting Sunderland at the Etihad at 3pm, but it will keep up the pressure on the chasing pack.

A win for Villa, at home, would see them leapfrog City into second place after winning 12 of their last 14 matches across all competitions, and they are now just 9/2 for a top-four finish on some betting sites.

They were 2-0 down at Brighton on Wednesday night, before a brace from Ollie Watkins and further strikes from Amadou Onana and Donyell Malen earned them an impressive 4-3, moving them above Chelsea, who were beaten 3-1 by Leeds at Elland Road.

At the same time, the Gunners kept up their impressive start to the season with a 2-0 win over Brentford, with Mikel Merino opening the scoring after 11 minutes and Bukayo Saka adding a second in added time.

The game did come at a cost, though, with Declan Rice limping off late on. If he is missing on Saturday, it would be a big hole to fill for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has made life difficult for the Gunners in recent years, losing just one of the last four meetings with his old side.

The Spaniard has taken charge of nine games against Arsenal for various teams and has only lost two, winning three and drawing the other four.

He was on the losing side at Villa Park last season when Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey struck in the second half to earn the visitors a 2-0 win, but his side took a point at the Emirates. Goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins saw Villa come from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw.

His side are the in-form side in the league at the moment, winning nine of their last 10, with their only defeat coming against Liverpool.

It’s a far cry from the Villa we saw at the start of the season, who didn’t secure their first league win until the end of September after losing two and drawing three of their opening five games.

Since coming back from a goal down to beat Fulham 3-1 at home on 28 September, they have won 10 and lost 2 of their last 12 matches to sit third in both the Premier League and Europa League tables, although in the latter they are level on points with the leaders Lyon.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have drawn three of their last 11 since a 1-0 defeat also at the hands of Liverpool and sit top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables.

The injuries are starting to mount up for Arteta though, with concerns over William Saliba, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel, Cristhian Mosquera, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus ahead of the trip to Villa Park.

Surely something has to give this weekend between two of the league’s in-form teams and although there has only been one in the last 20 meetings, the odds on a draw on football betting sites make it a strong option in a game featuring goals.

Aston Villa v Arsenal prediction 1: Draw & BTTS - 4/1 BetVictor

It’s been a difficult season for Villa and England striker Ollie Watkins, but everyone, including Thomas Tuchel, will be hoping his brace on Wednesday can kick-start his campaign, with a World Cup on the horizon.

The 29-year-old scored twice in eight minutes at the Amex Stadium to send his side in 2-2 at the break, and he has a good record against Saturday’s opponents.

He has scored six goals in 11 appearances against the Gunners so far, including three in his last five.

The one-time Arsenal target is 7/1 to score last for the third time in four games vs the Gunners on some football betting apps, but the football odds available for him to score at any time are big enough.

Aston Villa v Arsenal prediction 2: Watkins to score at any time - 14/5 BetVictor

Betano have a special offer for this weekend’s clash at Villa Park with the bookmaker boosting the odds on over 2.5 goals in the game to 30/1.

This new customer offer requires punters to head to Betano, create an account and opt in to the Villa vs Arsenal promotion.

Next, make a deposit of $5 or more and then place a maximum bet of £1 on over 2.5 goals in the Villa vs Arsenal match market at the normal odds.

Should Saturday’s lunchtime game feature three or more goals, Betano will pay out on the £1 bet at the usual match odds, with the remaining amount credited as free bets to bring up the total returns to a payout at 30/1.

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