Monday night closes the Premier League weekend at Villa Park. Arsenal opened their title defence with a 3-0 win over Coventry on opening night, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard sharing the goals, while Aston Villa were beaten 4-0 at Brighton and come into their first home game of the season still waiting for a point.
A response is needed tonight for Emery and Villa.
Sunday Results
Sunday’s card returned one winner from two positions. Sunderland -0.25 at 2.10 landed as Wilson Isidor’s late goal earned a 1-0 win over Fulham at the Stadium of Light. Our InPlay trading recommendation also included a further bet on Sunderland -0.25 after 30 minutes. The Under 2.5 at 2.25 was the losing position as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-3 in a seven-goal afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa v Arsenal (8pm UK)
The market has tonight priced firmly for the champions: 1.50 the away win, 4.33 the draw and 6.00 the hosts.
With one league round played, the numbers behind tonight’s position still lean on the closing weeks of last season. Full-time xG comes in at 0.85 for Villa against 1.20 for Arsenal, a 2.05 combined total that sits well below the Premier League average, and that total cuts against Villa’s recent past: every one of their last ten has cleared 2.5 goals, the Brighton defeat included. It all points towards a tighter night than that run suggests.
