Arsenal will make the trip up to the midlands today, to take on Aston Villa in a game which both sides will be desperate to win.
The Villains come into the tie inside the relegation, and with only two more matches left to pick up those much-needed points to climb to safety.
Villa come into the match-up having gone unbeaten in their last two fixtures, picking up four points from their clashes with Everton and Crystal Palace, although they will have felt hard done-by after succumbing to a late equaliser by Theo Walcott in the latter of those ties.
Arsenal on the other-hand have some sprightly form to fall back on, including wins over both Liverpool and Manchester City in the past week, although their hopes of climbing up into the European places will rely on others failings.
A win for us tonight would see us rise up to eighth spot in the Premier League table, and within two and three points of Tottenham and Wolves in the two final Europa League places that remain attainable, but with our goal difference remaining inferior to both sides, a comfortable win tonight could well be needed.
While Aston Villa are in decent form as they fight to avoid the drop, they remain as one of the worst defensive sides of the campaign, and our star-studded attack will relish the opportunity to try and close the GD gap on our league rivals.
I imagine Mikel Arteta will set out the team to attack tonight, which may see us leak a goal, but that shouldn’t interfere with our ability to win the game in emphatic style.
I’ll feel bad for us damaging Villa’s hopes of survival, but I feel like a nice 4-1 win could be on the cards, with Aubameyang adding to his double at the weekend.
Will Aston Villa be able to bring the game to Arsenal? Will an early goal at either end dictate the order of play?
Patrick
