3rd vs 4th : Arsenal vs Aston Villa
In round 19 of the English Premiership third placed Arsenal will face fourth placed Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
The two teams are equal on points but the Gunners take third place because of their superior goal difference.
This is a key match in terms of both the title and the top four positions as these clubs are in direct competition on both fronts.
Villa currently lie second on the form table having accumulated 14 points from their last six matches and its important to note that Villa is one of only two teams who haven't lost a match in their last six at the moment. The other is Birmingham City.
The winner of this tie could go into second place depending on Manchester United's result against Hull City.
A loss for either team could see them go down to sixth place also dependent on the Fulham/Spurs match.
Its interesting to see that Villa's next match after this one is against Liverpool, another team aiming to finish in the top four places.
This is the first time for the two teams to meet this season but in the same fixture last season Villa won 2-nil.
This is the rest of the stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Arsenal | Aston Villa | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 3 | 4 |
| Streak | LLWWDW | DDWWWW |
| Played | 17 | 18 |
| Points | 35 | 35 |
| Drawn | 2 | 5 |
| Won | 11 | 10 |
| Lost | 4 | 3 |
| Goal difference | 24 | 15 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 7 |
| Failed to score | 2 | 1 |
| Goals scored | 44 | 29 |
| Goals conceded | 20 | 14 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| Biggest win | Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal | Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton |
| Biggest loss | Arsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea | Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan |
| Score 3 or more | 8 | 3 |
| Concede 3 or more | 2 | 0 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 9 |
| Points | 21 | 20 |
| Drawn | 0 | 2 |
| Won | 7 | 6 |
| Lost | 1 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 18 | 11 |
| Goals scored | 25 | 17 |
| Goals conceded | 7 | 6 |
| Ave. goals scored | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 9 |
| Points | 14 | 15 |
| Drawn | 2 | 3 |
| Won | 4 | 4 |
| Lost | 3 | 2 |
| Goal difference | 6 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 19 | 12 |
| Goals conceded | 13 | 8 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.1 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 0.9 |
Gunners will surely take 3 points at Emirate Stadium but I expect them to play safe because they clearly understood Bolton's ability. Wenger's side is confident to control the match after leading so Gunners will stop fire after score 2s and Bolton may has a chance to steal a goal in last minute.
Thanks for the commment Wayne. Gunners tend to win by big margins against lowly teams but maybe not this time. Will see.
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