Arsenal have a chance to move back into first place in the English Premier League if they can win this weekend plus a little luck in the form of a Leicester City loss, and they’ve got to be licking their chops at the prospect of facing Aston Villa to get that much-needed win. The Gunners annihilated the Villains 4-0 in the FA Cup Final last year, and their opponents’ fortunes have only fallen further since then.
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch EPL online
Arsenal are searching for a chance to get back into first place and go to visit the last-place team in the Premier League to do it.
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Aston Villa have struggled for the past few seasons, but this season has reached a new low. They’re nailed to the bottom of the table with just one win and three draws all season long, a horrid start that cost Tim Sherwood his job as manager. His replacement, Frenchman Remi Garde, hasn’t had much better luck and is still searching for his first win in charge of Aston Villa. They struggle in attack, they struggle in defense, they struggle in midfield -- Aston Villa just struggle.
Key player -- Mesut Özil
His Arsenal career has been rather more of a struggle than he’d ever hoped for, but Özil has been very, very good for the Gunners this season. Especially with Aston Villa’s midfield struggling to contain playmakers like Özil all season long, this could be a chance for him to shine his brightest. Be it sending in defense-gutting throughballs, crashing the box for a rebound, or scorching shots from range, Özil is going to be at the heart of everything good Arsenal does in this match.
Key matchup -- Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa) vs. Gabriel Paulista (Arsenal)
Ayew has been one of the few relatively consistent players in Aston Villa’s attack this season, working both as a center forward and a wide forward out on the left at different times. Arsenal are going to have to account for and track him at all times, and no matter where Ayew plays, he’s going to be going head to head with Gabriel quite frequently. Even working out on the left, he cuts into the middle fairly frequently, so as the man on the right side of central defense, he’s going to be one-on-one with Ayew all day long. Whoever comes out on top of that could decide the course of the match.
Aston Villa injuries and suspensions
Out: Micah Richards, Jordan Amavi, Gary Gardner In doubt: Carlos Sanchez, Leandro Bacuna, Rudy Gestede
Arsenal injuries and suspensions
Out: Alexis Sanchez, Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Thomas Rosicky, Danny Welbeck
Neither of these teams are in fantastic health, with Aston Villa missing two key defenders and with several other core players playing hurt. Arsenal, of course, have been dealing with serious injury issues all season long, with their significant woes in midfield now joined by an injury to their best attacker in Sanchez.
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. local
Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), RDS 2, TSN2 (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
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