- Jake's 26/27 Predictions: Staked 15.8pts | Returned 8.86pts | P/L -6.94pts | ROI -43%
Football betting tips: Premier League
2pts Myles Lewis-Skelly to win 2+ fouls at 6/5 (bet365) - min price 8/11
0.75pt Myles Lewis-Skelly to win 3+ fouls at 7/2 (bet365) - min price 2/1
0.25pt Myles Lewis-Skelly to win 4+ fouls at 12/1 (bet365) - min price 6/1
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
- Kick-off: Monday, 20:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports Main Event
- Live odds, form and stats
Surely it can't get any worse for Aston Villa? As the great Mick McCarthy once said - 'It can'.
After a 4-0 shellacking at the Amex last weekend, a game which saw their new midfield signing Joao Gomes see red, Unai Emery must get his side, or what's left of it anyway, ready for a visit of the champions Arsenal.
The Gunners looked in cruise control last weekend against Coventry and could well win this with similar ease given the upheaval and dysfunction at Villa Park over the last month or so.
Come the end of the transfer window Villa's starting XI will be unrecognisable from the successful teams of the last few years, but if there is one man who can steady the ship and get it pointing in the right direction again it is Emery. After all, Villa have been slow starters in the last few seasons.
They are winless in their last four games in the month of August, and are in fact are goalless in that time as Emery is shuffling his pack and figuring out the best way to get his team motoring. That doesn't bode well for this game against an Arsenal team who look to be purring already.
Arsenal win to nil at 13/8 is a cracking bet, but Joe beat me to it in his match preview.
So, we'll back MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY TO WIN 2+ FOULS at 6/5, with the price on offer too big to pass up. Lewis-Skelly should again start in midfield after continuing to impress in that role and he has been excellent from a foul-drawing perspective since making the switch.
Since the start of May last season he has started seven games in midfield for the Gunners and this bet has won six times as he has averaged 2.72 fouls won per 90. Aston Villa will be confrontational in their approach, probably playing angry after last week and the circumstances they find themselves in which certainly helps this bet.
Buendia playing as a false nine is definitely a boost for us as the Argentine is foul-happy, while the fact Lewis-Skelly plays on the left side of a midfield two brings him into John McGinn's vicinity, with the Scotsman a very aggressive presser.
All of that has me wanting to climb the ladder and chance LEWIS-SKELLY TO WIN 3+ FOULS and TO WIN 4+ FOULS at 7/2 and 12/1 respectively, with both prices with bet365 who offer super sub.
Score prediction: Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)
Odds correct at 21:10 BST (28/08/26)
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