Aston Villa lineup vs. Arsenal: Predicted XI for Premier League clash as Unai Emery makes big striker call

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has the best kind of attacking dilemma to solve for Saturday's Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Lions head south on the back of a 1-0 success over Everton in midweek, where Ollie Watkins struck the only goal of the game as Jhon Duran was restricted to a watching brief.

The latter is yet to play any Premier League minutes in 2025 - having only just come back from suspension while avoiding a further ban for an FA charge - and Emery is unlikely to consider swapping out Watkins for Duran in North London.

Watkins - a boyhood Arsenal fan - memorably scored the Lions' second in their 2-0 win at the Emirates last season, where the other goal came courtesy of Leon Bailey, who might also be in line for promotion to the first XI.

Emery may feel the need to carefully manage Jacob Ramsey's minutes given his recent injuries, so Bailey could be given the opportunity to haunt the Gunners again, especially if new signing Donyell Malen - a former Arsenal youth player - is not deemed ready for a start just yet.

Ross Barkley and John McGinn both remain out injured, so Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara - the man of the match at Goodison Park - are surefire starters in the middle of the park.

The same goes for Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa at the back, as Pau Torres is out for weeks with a metatarsal fracture, and Diego Carlos - who recently hit back at Emery's claim that he was injured - is being heavily linked with an exit.

Ian Maatsen for Lucas Digne is not beyond the realm of possibility, but the latter should continue in a first-choice defence with Matty Cash and former Gunner Emiliano Martinez.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, Tielemans, Bailey; Watkins

> Click here to see how Arsenal could line up for this clash