League-leading Arsenal hosts third-place Aston Villa in London on Tuesday, Dec. 30, a crucial Premier League clash before the calendar flips to 2026. The match will mark the halfway point in the season for each team with Arsenal looking to get revenge for a last-gasp 2-1 loss suffered at Villa Park earlier in December.
‘I have a few ideas and things that we have to do better,’ Arsenal manager Miguel Arteta told reporters. ‘And it was quite cruel, as well, the way we lost it.’
Aston Villa has won 11 matches in a row – including eight in the Premier League – under manager Unai Emery and are very much in the title race, trailing Arsenal by three points and second-place Manchester City by one entering Tuesday.
Arsenal is without star midfielder Declan Rice due to injury, with Mikel Merino stepping in to start. Defenders Gabriel and Jurrien Timber also return to the lineup at the Emirates Stadium.
How to watch Arsenal vs Aston Villa: Time, TV channel, live stream
Time: 3:15 p.m. ET
TV channel: NBC
Live stream: Peacock
Watch Arsenal-Aston Villa on Peacock!
Arsenal vs Aston Villa lineups
Declan Rice injury for Arsenal
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is expected to miss Tuesday’s match against Aston Villa after sustaining a knee injury on Saturday in a win over Brighton, according to multiple reports Rice played out-of-position at right back in that game and seems to have picked up a knock but played the full 90 minutes.
Regarded as one of the top midfielders in the world, Rice could be replaced by Mikel Merino or Christian Nørgaard in the lineup at the Emirates Stadium. Signed over the summer, Nørgaard has featured sparingly in his first season with Arsenal.
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa prediction, odds
Martin Odegaard on ‘unusual’ rematch vs. Aston Villa
A Premier League scheduling quirk has Arsenal and Aston Villa facing each other for the second time in less than a month, and Gunners captain Martin Odegaard says his team will use the recent defeat as ‘motivation.’
“We played Aston Villa a few weeks ago and it’s unusual to play a team twice so close together in the league. It feels more like a two-legged Champions League or cup tie, so this gives us a good chance to face them again soon after the defeat at Villa Park.” Odegaard said in the captain’s notes of Arsenal’s matchday program.
“We can use that as motivation. We feel like we could have won that away game & now we’ve got the opportunity to show that tonight. We know the quality they have & we saw that in the first game, but as always, we focus on ourselves.”
Premier League games today
Burnley vs. Newcastle, 2:30 p.m. ET – Peacock
Chelsea vs. Bournemouth, 2:30 p.m. – USA Network
Nottingham Forest vs. Everton, 2:30 p.m. – Peacock
West Ham vs. Brighton & Hove, 2:30 p.m. – Peacock
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa, 3:15 p.m. – NBCSN / Peacock
Manchester United vs. Wolves, 3:15 p.m. – Peacock
Premier League standings
(Entering Tuesday, Dec. 30)
Arsenal – 42 points
Manchester City – 40
Aston Villa – 39
Liverpool – 32
Chelsea – 29 (+11 goal difference)
Manchester United – 29 (+4 GD)