Aston Villa v Arsenal: Betting preview, free tip and TV details

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Aston Villa v Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League, 8.15pm Tuesday

Best bet

Arsenal
2pts 11-10 general

Team news

Aston Villa
Neil Taylor is out with a hamstring problem but Kortney Hause and Danny Drinkwater could be available.

Arsenal
Mikel Arteta could ring the changes. Rob Holding and Bukayo Saka could start and Eddie Nketiah and Cedric Soares are available again. Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring) is out.

Match preview

It is difficult to see Aston Villa pulling off a great escape in the Premier League and a defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday could push them to the brink of relegation.

Dean Smith's side suffered a hammer blow when Theo Walcott netted a late equaliser for Everton against them last week and while fourth-from-bottom Watford remain in range, that might not realistically be the case going into the final day on Sunday.

Arsenal booked their place in the FA Cup final on Saturday, and it is worth backing the Gunners at odds-against, even if their league campaign is coming to a low-key finish.

Villa did at least show signs of life at Goodison, putting in a decent performance that built on a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, which has been in their only success in their last 12 matches.

There is a reliance on Jack Grealish pulling something out of the bag, yet he hasn't scored in his last 13 matches, and four clean sheets in their last 15 home matches leaves them vulnerable against a talented Arsenal forward line.

The Gunners had a miserable restart initially as they were outclassed at Manchester City before suffering a poor 2-1 reverse at Brighton.

But since gaining some good fortune at Southampton, they have won at Wolves and were the better side for significant periods of a 2-1 defeat at rivals Tottenham. And their morale should be sky high now after victories in the last week against the best two teams in the country, Liverpool and City.

Manager Mikel Arteta has competition for places and will be fielding players who will be eager to be involved in the Wembley showdown with Chelsea on August 1, so even if he does elect to make changes, the Gunners should still be strong and motivated.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be rested but Alexandre Lacazette's three goals in five outings should not be dismissed, while Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah have shown great promise.

It is a great opportunity for such players to flourish as they face a side who have scored more than once just three times in their last 15 games and only basement boys Norwich have conceded more goals than the Villans' tally of 66.

It has got to the stage where Villa have to be positive and that might just leave them exposed. The end could soon be nigh.

Key stat

Arsenal have lost just one of their last eight Premier League matches.

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