Aston Villa XI vs Arsenal as Donyell Malen debut call and Bailey start predicted
Aston Villa are targeting their fourth successive win in all competitions when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Unai Emery's side beat Leicester City 2-1 before seeing off West Ham in the FA Cup third round last Friday. A win over Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night put the club just three points behind the top four.
The Gunners lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season and haven't lost consecutive home league games against Villa since their first two meetings in the Premier League. But Villa have claimed victory in five of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Arsenal, which is as many as they had in their previous 46 against them.
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Arsenal come into the game on the back of a 2-1 win over North London rivals Tottenham at home. That followed a run of three winless games against Brighton, Newcastle in the League Cup and Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez returned to the starting XI on Wednesday after overcoming injury at the start of the week after he missed the FA Cup clash against West Ham.
He will likely start in front of an unchanged back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne. Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara could also continue in midfield.
Onana's height and presence in both boxes will be important against an Arsenal side who have scored more set-pieces than any other side in the division this term. Youri Tielemans could therefore operate in the same role he played against Everton.
Jhon Duran and Leon Bailey were both left in reserve on Wednesday, but could both return to the XI to face Arsenal. Bailey may play off the right to add more pace to the side in place of Jacob Ramsey, whose minutes will have to be managed after he made his first start since November earlier this week.
Morgan Rogers will continue in the side, while Ollie Watkins may also keep his place up front despite Duran returning to the squad. Watkins scored the only goal of the game against Everton and has had joy against the Arsenal defence in recent seasons.
New signing Donyell Malen is expected to take a place on the bench after only joining in training on Thursday.
Villa predicted XI vs Arsenal: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Kamara, Onana, Bailey, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins.
