PREVIEW: Aston Villa could go four points off top against depleted Arsenal | OneFootball

Arsenal travel to Villa Park for the early kick-off on Saturday to face an in-form Aston Villa side in gameweek 15 of the Premier League.

Both sides come into the match in great form: hosts Villa have won each of their last six games in all competitions, while Mikel Arteta’s side, top of both the Premier League and Champions League, haven’t tasted defeat in 18 long games.

It’s that kind of breathtaking form which would send the Gunners eight clear of second place Manchester City if they defeat the Villans.

The most recent outing between the two sides was an entertaining match at the Emirates Stadium which saw them draw 2-2 in January.

A growing injury list means Arteta will be without six key players in the west midlands. With both William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães out injured, Cristhian Mosquera had been filling in at centre half, but after picking up an ankle injury in the Gunners’ most recent 2-0 win over Brentford, he’s a major doubt for the Villa trip. Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice are also likely to miss the game, while Kai Havertz remains out.

With that in mind, this could be the perfect opportunity for Aston Villa to capitalise. Emiliano Martínez, who pulled out of the Villans’ clash with Brighton at very short notice, is unlikely to start this game against his former club, while Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings are still out with longer term injuries.

Unai Emery’s men are third in the Premier League table and could climb to second place – just four points behind the Gunners – before Manchester City play Sunderland in the afternoon.

Overall, the two teams have faced each other on 205 occasions with Villa having won 71 of those matches and Arsenal coming out on top with 88 wins, with 46 draws to boot.

The match will be live on TNT Sports in the UK and will kick off at 12:30 GMT.

Predicted line-ups

AVI: Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Buendía; Watkins