ASTON VILLA vs ARSENAL - MATCH PREVIEW

By Ryan Ghee
December 30 2005

Aston Villa will have to come up with something special at Villa Park tomorrow afternoon if they are to finish the year on a high note, with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal their final opponents of 2005.

Aston Villa team news: Luke Moore is expected to keep his place in attack alongsise Milan Baros after netting in the 3-3 draw with Fulham. Wilfred Bouma will miss the match after picking up a knee injury at Craven Cottage so Gareth Barry will start at left-back. Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen, Patrik Berger, Lee Hendrie and Ulises De la Cruz will also miss out.

Arsenal team news: Arsene Wenger is expected to start Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas in the centre of midfield after Gilberto picked up a groin injury in the 4-0 drubbing of Portsmouth. Robin van Persie is back in the frame after recovering from a minor injury and Dennis Bergkamp and Jose Antonio Reyes will fight it out for a place upfront alongside Thierry Henry. However, with Arsenal to face Manchester United on January 3rd, Arsene Wenger could be tempted to rest some of his big-guns.

History of this fixture: Arsenal and Villa have played each other 169 times with the Gunners winning 67 and Villa winning 63. The other 39 matches ended all square. In the two fixtures between the clubs last season, Arsenal proved victorious on both occasions with a 3-1 win in each match. The last time Aston Villa defeated tomorrow's opponents was back in December 1998 when the Villans won 3-2 at Villa Park.

Match betting: Aston Villa win - 7/2
Arsenal win - 4/6
Draw - 12/5