Arsenal aim to extend strong start as Aston Villa seek a response at Villa Park

Arsenal will look to continue their impressive opening to the season when they visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday, 31 August 2026.

The match, part of the second round of fixtures, will begin at 19:00 GMT at Villa Park. It will be shown on beIN Sports in France, Movistar+ in Spain, Canal+ Sport or SuperSport in sub-Saharan Africa, beIN Sports MENA in North Africa and the Middle East, ESPN+ or ESPN Deportes in the United States, Premier Sports in the United Kingdom, Eleven Sports in Belgium and Blue Sport in Switzerland.

Recent meetings between the sides suggest another closely fought contest. Across their past five Premier League encounters, Aston Villa and Arsenal have each won twice, while the other game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Aston Villa enter the fixture looking to recover from a difficult start. Unai Emery’s side were beaten 4-0 by Brighton on 23 August in their opening Premier League match, with the early dismissal of Joao Gomes making their task even harder.

That heavy defeat followed an inconsistent pre-season campaign. Villa had also lost 2-1 to PSG in the UEFA Super Cup, which was played in Klagenfurt, before the start of their domestic league programme.

Arsenal, in contrast, began their Premier League campaign in convincing fashion. The Gunners defeated Coventry City 3-0 at the Emirates on 21 August, with Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard all finding the net.

Mikel Arteta’s team had already secured a major early-season boost by winning the 2026 Community Shield. Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in that match, giving them successive 3-0 victories in the Community Shield and Premier League.

That contrasting form has left Arsenal as the more confident of the two teams going into Monday’s game. The visitors have shown attacking fluency and arrive after two emphatic wins, while Aston Villa must respond to the setback at Brighton and deal with absences within their squad.

Arsenal therefore appear to hold the advantage before the match at Villa Park. Africafoot’s prediction is a 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Betting odds listed for the match by 1xbet make Arsenal the clear favourites. An Aston Villa victory is priced at 6.25, while a draw is available at 4.33 and an Arsenal win at 1.50.

The game gives Aston Villa an opportunity to put their opening-day disappointment behind them in front of their home supporters. Arsenal, meanwhile, will aim to maintain their momentum and add another positive result to a start that has already included wins over Manchester City and Coventry City.