Here’s a preview — predicted lineups and head-to-head — ahead of the Arsenal vs Club Brugge clash.

–

🔎 Head-to-Head / Context

According to recent sources, this will be the first competitive meeting between Arsenal and Club Brugge.

Historically, Club Brugge have struggled against English clubs, having won just 1 of their previous 18 encounters with English opponents (with many draws and losses).

In this season’s group stage: Arsenal are flying — undefeated (5 wins), with a strong goalscoring record and only 1 conceded.

Conversely, Club Brugge have had a rocky time: several losses in their last matches and defensive frailties shown in the Champions League.

Bottom line: given form, history, and squad strength — Arsenal go into this as clear favourites.

—

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Likely / Predicted Lineups

Here are the lineups most media expect for this match. Keep in mind injuries and rotation could affect final XI.

Club Brugge (likely 4-2-3-1)

GK: Van den Heuvel

Defence: Hugo Siquet, Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Joaquín Seys

Midfield (double-pivot): Aleksandar Stanković, Raphael Onyedika

Attack-mid trio / wingers: Carløs Forbs, Hans Vanaken, Christos Tzolis

Striker: Nicolò Tresoldi

Arsenal (likely 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 depending on rotation)

GK: David Raya

Defence: Ben White, Jurriën Timber, Piero Hincapié, Myles Lewis-Skelly

Midfield: Martín Ødegaard, Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice (or Mikel Merino, depending on rotation)

Attack (front three): Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and either Viktor Gyokeres or a rotated / alternate forward depending on fitness decisions.

One preview goes even further — projecting Saka, Martinelli and Merino in advanced roles behind Gyokeres, as part of a rotated refresh given recent heavy fixture load.

—

✅ What It Means & What to Watch

Arsenal entering with full confidence: form, defence, and squad depth suggest they can dominate.

Club Brugge — though at home — may struggle defensively if Arsenal exploit spaces; their double-pivot may need to be compact.

Key duel: Arsenal’s attacking pace & wing play (especially Saka / Martinelli) vs Brugge’s full-backs + recovery speed.

Potential for rotation: Arsenal could rotate some midfield/attack given fixture congestion — meaning we might see some surprises in final lineup.

—

If you like — I can give 3 match-scenarios predictions (e.g. 3–0, 2–1, 1–1) with expected scorers + lineup variations.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal; Premier League

Aston Villa vs Arsenal. Premier League.

12:30pm, Saturday 6th December 2025.

Villa Park.

Aston Villa

Arsenal

Aston Villa vs Arsenal LIVE! Premier League live blog, team news, live updates, free highlights

Saturday 6 December 2025 12:05, UK

Kick-Off 12.30pm: Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Teams: Eze & Saka return | Martinez and Tielemans back

Arsenal looking to maintain PL lead against in-form Aston Villa

FREE highlights from 5.15pm! 🚨 |  ALL PL Highlights ▶️

Live PL table | Latest: Aston Villa | Arsenal | Super 6

IRISH CUSTOMERS: Stream this game contract-free on NOW 📺

dict the score and pick your XIs for Aston Villa vs Arsenal!

Last time out for Villa…

Arsenal’s aerial threat

Eight of Arsenal’s last 13 Premier League away goals have been headers, including six of their nine on the road this season. Meanwhile, four of the last six home goals Aston Villa have conceded in the Premier League have been headed, including each of the last th

You still have time to enter this week’s Super 6! Simply guess the results from six Premier League matches for your chance to win £100,000.

ENTER HERE!

Arsenal’s defensive resolve

Arsenal haven’t conceded more than twice in any of their last 108 games in all competitions, the outright longest run of any team in English football league history surpassing Manchester United’s 107 between 2016 and

Last time out for Arsenal…

Arsenal have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League away games (W11 D9), going down 1-0 at Liverpool in August. Each of their last three away defeats have been to nil, with the Gunners unbeaten in 30 on the road when scoring at least once in the match (W21 D9).

Of the 40 managers to have taken charge of 100+ Premier League away games, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has the fourth highest win rate (53% – won 59/112). Indeed, he’s one of only five to have won more than half of their 100+ away games along with Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson, Jürgen Klopp and José Mourinho.

Share on Facebook

Arteta reflects on time at Arsenal

Roman Kemp sits down with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to look back on six years in charge of

Since losing this exact fixture in August last season, Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 25 Premier League home games (W16 D8). They’ve won each of their last five at Villa Park since going down 3-0 against Crystal Palace in August.

Arsenal take on Aston Villa in today’s early Premier League kick-off at Villa Park.

The Gunners are five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, and they have the opportunity to extend the advantage with a positive result against the Villans.

Unai Emery’s side are six points adrift of Arsenal after four league wins on the bounce. The Gunners must turn up with a strong performance to beat the Midlands outfit.

Villa have been a bogey club for Arsenal with one win in the last four meetings, but that was a 2-0 victory at Villa Park last season. The Gunners will be aiming to replicate the feat.

Ahead of the clash, we anticipate manager Mikel Arteta to make five changes to the starting XI.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Line-up:

David Raya kept his eighth clean sheet of the league campaign against Brentford

The Spaniard had a relatively quiet evening, barring one fantastic save in the opening half. He will be eyeing another shutout.

There could be a couple of changes to the backline. Arteta has repeatedly said it is a ‘matter of days’ before William Saliba returns from injury.

With the huge importance of the fixture, the Frenchman could be reinstated into the starting line-up.

He looks poised to partner Piero Hincapie in central defence. Cristhian Mosquera is out for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury, while Gabriel Magalhaes is also sidelined until the New Year.

Ben White was adjudged the man of the match against the Bees. He bagged an assist while winning 10 duels and four tackles. Despite this, he could drop to the bench.

With Villa known for quick counter-attacks, Arteta could reinstate Jurrien Timber in the right-back role.

The Netherlands international obviously has good recovery pace and fares better in one-on-one duels.

Riccardo Calafiori is assured to continue at left-back ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly once more.

Declan Rice suffered an injury scare in midweek, but confirmed after the game that he is ‘fine‘.

The Englishman is poised to line up alongside Martin Zubimendi in the heart of the midfield.

Martin Odegaard is likely to feature as the attacking midfielder against the Villans, but we anticipate a complete overhaul of the front three.

Noni Madueke had some good phases against Brentford on the right wing and played a big part in White’s assist for Mikel Merino’s opening goal.

Still, he is set to drop to the bench for Bukayo Saka, who is usually an undisputed starter. He showed his quality as a substitute with a late goal in midweek.

Leandro Trossard could be deemed fit for the game, but we would personally prefer Eberechi Eze to occupy the left wing instead of Gabriel Martinelli.

Martinelli won none of his duels against Chelsea (0/5) while his success rate was 33 percent on Wednesday (3/9). He squandered one good chance to score.

Eze has a terrific record against Villa, scoring five goals and providing three assists in 14 meetings. He should get the nod as a left winger in today’s encounter.

We had initially preferred to go with Mikel Merino upfront, given his sublime recent form. The Spaniard has five goal contributions in his last four league matches.

However, this is a game where Viktor Gyokeres’ services could be required from the off. Villa operate with a high line, which could be ideal for the Swede.

Gyokeres is more suited with his strong physique and pace to run behind the backline.

How Arsenal could line up vs Aston Villa