Unai Emery has selected his team to face Arsenal in the Premier League
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
View Image
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has named his starting XI to face Arsenal in the Premier League this afternoon.
He has made a couple of changes from the team that beat Brighton 4–3 at the Amex on Wednesday night.
Emi Martínez is fit to start against his former club after overcoming a back injury, and he lines up behind a defence of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen.
Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana operate in the double pivot, with John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers supporting striker Ollie Watkins.
Villa are targeting their ninth straight home win in all competitions and have lost only once in 25 home league games since their defeat to Arsenal more than 15 months ago.
The Gunners have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League away matches, a 1–0 defeat at Liverpool in August.
Each of their last three away defeats have been to nil, with Mikel Arteta’s side unbeaten in 30 away games when scoring at least once.
If Villa win his afternoon, they will cut the gap to leaders Arsenal to just three points ahead of then playing at West Ham next weekend.
Villa starting XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, Onana, McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Digne, Garcia, Bogarde, Hemmings, Buendia, Malen, Sancho.
Arsenal starting XI: Raya, White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Saka, Eze, Merino,
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Salmon, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Madueke, Trossard, Gyokeres.
What do you make of Villa's team news? Tell us here
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.