Arsenal v Aston Villa: Visitors to regain goal-scoring touch

Can Lambert mastermind another Emirates success?

The first of the two live Premier League games comes from The Emirates and Paul Robinson thinks it won't be as easy for Arsenal as the odds suggest.

Arsenal v Aston Villa
Sunday February 1, 13:30 GMT
Live on Sky Sports 1

A run of four consecutive victories in all competitions has once again eased the pressure on Arsene Wenger that had escalated after the 2-0 defeat at St Mary's on New Year's Day. The most impressive of those wins was the 2-0 triumph at Manchester City as it was a mature performance that gave hope of a change in approach against the big teams.

Alexis Sanchez will be missing for this clash though as the Chilean has been ruled out through injury. Luckily for Wenger, the likes of Walcott and Ozil are nearing full fitness and the manager will be hoping that those two in particular can cover for the man who has been Arsenal's saviour on so many occasions this season.

Aston Villa earned a much needed win in the cup last week at home to Bournemouth. Scoring twice for the first time in 10 fixtures isn't something to shout about but it will instil plenty of confidence into the attacking players, with new boy, Carles Gil also seemingly firing up his teammates. 

Paul Lambert's side could do with picking up some wins in the league as well as they are only three points clear of the relegation zone, albeit with a game in hand. They haven't won in the league since the first week of December and a trip to Arsenal isn't exactly the easiest fixture, but The Villans will take heart from the fact that three of their five victories this term have come on the road.

Match Odds
Arsenal 1.292/7 Aston Villa 14.013/1 The Draw 6.411/2

No real surprise here as The Gunners are the warm favourites. On paper, everything is pretty much pointing to a routine home win. I wouldn't like to be a backer at those odds though as Villa are suited to playing away and Arsenal are capable of throwing in a shocking performance. It's also worth noting that Lambert masterminded a 3-1 win on this ground last season.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 1.75/7 Under 2.5 Goals 2.3811/8

I thought that the odds might be a bit closer in this market than they are. The visitors are struggling for form and goals, but their last seven away games have finished under 2.5, with four of them rewarding under 1.5 backers. I'm not overly keen to get involved though either way, but there is another goal market that offers us some value...

Both Teams to Score  

That brings us to both teams to score. We have to assume that Arsenal will score here - they haven't failed to net in front of their own fans since Bayern Munich were in town in February 2014. Therefore we are getting better than even money on Villa scoring at the other end. That's something which they've struggled with, but they did look better last week and have fond memories of the Emirates.

Cash Out   

I might be going against the grain here but I quite like the chance of an upset. Aston Villa are available at a whopping 14.013/1 and while they may not complete the job, I wouldn't be surprised if they traded much shorter than that in-running.

Recommended Bets
Back Both teams to Score @ 2.3611/8

Best Cash Out
Back Aston Villa @ 14.013/1