Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Prediction, Picks, XIs for EPL – Monday, August 31

Arsenal got their 2026-27 Premier League season as the reigning champs underway with a win, and they’ll follow that up with a road match against Aston Villa on Monday, August 31 at 3 p.m. on USA Network.

According to PrizePicks Team Picks, Arsenal is heavily favored as the road team, returning a 1.47x payout if they secure a victory.

Below, we’ll discuss our Aston Villa vs. Arsenal prediction and picks for Monday’s EPL showdown.

Make your Aston Villa vs. Arsenal prediction on PrizePicks for today’s match.

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Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Prediction, Spread, Total Goals for EPL – Monday, August 31

How to watch Aston Villa vs. Arsenal: USA Network (English) / Universo (Spanish)

Kick-off time: 3 p.m. ET

Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham, England

After being crowned Premier League champions a season ago, Arsenal got the 2026-27 underway with a home match against newly promoted side Coventry City. The Gunners cruised to a 3-0 victory in front of their home fans at the Emirates Stadium, with ST Kai Havertz, RW Bukayo Saka, and CAM Martin Ødegaard supplying the goals.

Although their first game came against Coventry, Arsenal flashed their dominance on defense like last season, allowing the fewest xG (0.20), fewest shots (4), and shots on target (1) among the EPL teams in the opening matchweek, per Opta Analyst. On the attack, the Gunners also tallied the fifth-most shots (20) and fourth-most shots on target (6).

With Arsenal not showing any signs of slowing down this year, they return the lowest payout to win the Premier League (1.81x) on PrizePicks Team Picks.

It wasn't the smoothest start to the season for Aston Villa, as they lost 4-0 to Brighton in their opener. Manager Unai Emery’s squad has undergone numerous changes throughout the transfer window, so it’s an adjustment period for Villa right now.

Following a fourth-place finish and clinching a spot in the Champions League for this season in 2025-26, Aston Villa has notably lost CAM Morgan Rogers, ST Ollie Watkins, CB Ezri Konsa, CM Youri Tielemans, LB Lucas Digne, and GK Emiliano Martínez.

Upon those departures, Villa has certainly taken a youthful approach, adding CAM Johan Manzambi, ST Nicolas Jackson, CM João Gomes, GK Zion Suzuki, and LB Matteo Ruggeri. All of those transfers are 25 years old or younger.

In the lopsided loss to Brighton, Aston Villa recorded the third-fewest shots (6), and they were the lone team to not log a single SOT. Things won’t get much easier for Villa at home against the reigning Premier League champions.

Despite the rough start to the year, a prediction of "Yes" for Aston Villa to finish in the top half of the EPL carries a 1.78x payout, compared to a 1.96x payout on "No."

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Spread, Total Goals, Payouts – 8/31/26

Arsenal enters Monday’s EPL match as road favorites, returning a 1.47x payout ($100 entry pays out $147) on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright. A tie also returns a 4x payout.

Here are the full payouts for the Aston Villa vs. Arsenal match on PrizePicks.

Play the Aston Villa vs. Arsenal spread or total goals on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money — available in 36 states!

Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change. Does not include extra time or penalties.

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Prediction on Total Goals – 8/31/26

Here are some stats to know to help you make your Aston Villa vs. Arsenal prediction on total goals scored for Monday, August 31. Check out more of our soccer picks and predictions on Playbook.

Lock in your Aston Villa vs. Arsenal prediction on PrizePicks now.

• Aston Villa was tied for the third-most shots allowed (21) and third-most SOT allowed (6) against Brighton.
• Brighton had the highest pass conversion rate (92.9%) and the second-highest pass conversion rate in the final third (84.4%) against Aston Villa.
• Meanwhile, Arsenal had the second-highest pass conversion rate (91.7%) and highest pass conversion rate in the final third (85.7%).
• Arsenal is certainly a team that takes advantage of mistakes, and Villa had the most errors leading to a shot (3) in their EPL opener.
• There have been at least 3 total goals scored in three straight head-to-head meetings between Aston Villa and Arsenal.
• Aston Villa had 3+ total goals scored in four of their final home matches against Premier League clubs.

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Projected Lineups

Here are the projected Aston Villa vs. Arsenal lineups for today's EPL match. Lineups are not official.

Aston Villa Lineup vs. Arsenal: Projected 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Zion Suzuki
• Defense: Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres, Victor Lindelöf, Matty Cash
• Midfield: Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley, John McGinn
• Forwards: Alejandro Garnacho, Emiliano Buendía, George Hemmings

Arsenal Lineup vs. Aston Villa: Projected 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: David Raya
• Defense: Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhães, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White
• Midfield: Bruno Guimarães, Martin Ødegaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly
• Forwards: Christos Tzolis, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Player Picks, Stats for PrizePicks for EPL – 8/31/26

Here are our Aston Villa vs. Arsenal picks to target on players for Monday, August 31. Player picks via PrizePicks are headlined by Christos Tzolis and Martin Ødegaard.

Aston Villa ST Christos Tzolis vs. Aston Villa: 2.5 Shots

• Tzolis led Arsenal in shots (4) during the team’s opener against Coventry City.
• Plus, Tzolis had the most SOT (2) for the Gunners in their win over Coventry.
• After playing only 76 minutes in his Arsenal debut, Tzolis could approach 90 minutes on Monday.
• Brighton produced 22 shots (18 from open play) against Aston Villa during the first matchweek.

Add Christos Tzolis to your PrizePicks lineup now.

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Arsenal CAM Martin Ødegaard vs. Aston Villa: 1.5 Shots Assisted

• Ødegaard was tied for the second-most chances created (3) on Arsenal in the team’s 3-0 victory over Coventry.
• Arsenal has a massive advantage in the midfield against Aston Villa.
• Besides scoring a goal for the Gunners in his season debut, Ødegaard completed 52 of his 56 pass attempts against Coventry.

Add Martin Ødegaard to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Make Aston Villa vs. Arsenal Picks on PrizePicks

Aston Villa is getting accustomed to a new roster under manager Unai Emery, but it’ll be a tall task to get a result against Arsenal on Monday. Even with the Gunners deploying a formidable back line, should we expect goals in this match?

You can make your Aston Villa vs. Arsenal picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money on Premier League games. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats like shots or goals, and cash in if you’re correct. 

With Team Picks, make predictions on match winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 36 states. 

Stick around with the Playbook for continued Premier League predictions, picks, and analysis through the end of the season.