• Competition: Premier League
• Date: Saturday, 24th August, 2024
• Kickoff: 17:30 UK / 18:30 CEST
• Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)

After both teams secured victories in the season's openers, Aston Villa and Arsenal will face off against each other in the 2nd round of the English Premier League at Villa Park in Birmingham.

Aston Villa absolutely blossomed under Unai Emery, and last season, they had one of their best seasons in a very long time. They finished 4th and secured a historic Champions League Group Stage appearance. After around half of the last season, it even looked like they could get involved in a battle for the title, but they lost steam in the final months. Over the Summer, the team lost two key players, Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz, but we believe they found the right replacements. And indeed, they were impressed in their first game, winning 2:1 against West Ham in London.

Once again, Arsenal came close to stopping Manchester City's dominance in England last year but fell short again. During the transfer window, the team made almost no changes to the roster, only adding additional depth at the back with Riccardo Calafiori, who arrived from Bologna, and Kieran Terney, who returned from a loan. So, there is a reason to believe they will once again be among the best teams in England. Right now, the bookies see Arsenal as the second-best team in England, offering odds around 2.75 to win the title, only behind Manchester City (2.1 odds).

Aston Villa vs Arsenal pick: Both teams to score

Aston Villa have become one of the fan favorites because of their attacking style of play. They were superb offensively, and at Villa Park, the Villans could score against anyone. Last year, the Villans were superb at their turf, scoring 48 goals - only two fewer than Manchester City, which had the best (home) offense. Still, due to an offensive style of football, they weren't that great defensively, and, because of it, they were one of the best teams in the league for this bet. At Villa Park, 74% of their games finished with both teams scoring.

Arsenal opened the season with an easy 2:0 win over Wolves. They have such a strong team that it is almost impossible to stop them from scoring both at home and away from it. If we count the Wolves game, pre-season, and the last part of the previous season, the Gunners scored at least one goal in 12 consecutive games. Additionally, Arsenal were impressive away from home last year, scoring 43 goals in 19 rounds - 2.3 goals per game.

Both teams opened the season with two scored goals, and considering all the above, we expect an exciting game with both teams scoring.