Mansion Sports – Meeting for the second time within a four-week span, Premier League title contenders Arsenal and Aston Villa will battle for three points on matchday 19 of the 2025/2026 Premier League season.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, 30 December 2025 at 20:15 local time.

Less than a month after Villa claimed victory in Birmingham, the two clubs met again, with The Gunners still sitting at the top of the standings and the visitors enjoying an extraordinary run of results.

Before the match kicks off, here is Mansion Sports’ prediction for the Arsenal vs Aston Villa lineups December 2025 below.

Condition of Both Teams Ahead of the Match

Arsenal

Not long after being displaced from the top of the table by closest rivals Manchester City, Arsenal immediately returned to the summit of the Premier League on Saturday night thanks to a hard-fought 2–1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Responding to City’s win at Nottingham Forest, The Gunners took the lead through a powerful strike from Martin Odegaard, before benefiting again from an opposition own goal.

Although Brighton managed to reduce the deficit and made the closing stages in North London tense, Mikel Arteta’s side secured their fifth consecutive victory since the dramatic late defeat at Villa Park.

Arsenal have also won nine of their last ten home Premier League matches, including six consecutive victories, which represents their best run at the Emirates since 2022.

Holding a two-point advantage over their closest challengers and three points clear of Aston Villa, the league leaders can ensure they end 2025 at the top if they are able to extend this positive run.

However, including the most recent defeat in the West Midlands, Arsenal have lost three of their last five meetings with Villa, collecting only four points from those fixtures.

On the other hand, the hosts have won their final league match of the year in four of the last five years, while Villa’s record in year-ending fixtures is far less convincing, with only two wins from 13 matches.

Aston Villa

Nevertheless, Aston Villa travel to London with four points taken from their last two visits to the Emirates, having won 2–0 in April 2024 and drawn 2–2 earlier this year.

That draw required a second-half comeback, and Unai Emery’s side have recently become known as specialists in turning games around.

Not only was it Emiliano Buendia’s dramatic goal that brought down Arsenal, but Villa have also managed to recover against several other opponents.

In their most recent match, super substitute Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score twice at Stamford Bridge, after Emery responded to a poor first-half performance by making three crucial substitutions.

Thanks to the narrow 2–1 victory over Chelsea, Villa have collected 18 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, the highest total of any team.

In addition, eight consecutive top-flight wins represent their best run since 1910, while across all competitions, an 11-match winning streak equals a club record previously achieved in 1897 and 1914.

Considering they were once in 18th place and winless after the opening five matches of the season, this resurgence has been remarkable.

Since then, Villa have recorded the most wins and the most points in the Premier League.

Now, Emery returns to the Emirates, a stadium that has been relatively kind to him since his departure, with the belief that another victory would see Villa level on points with Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Predicted Lineups – December 2025

Arsenal (4-3-3)

Amid a congested end-of-year schedule, Arteta is expected to make several changes, especially after Declan Rice had to operate at right-back against Brighton.

Arsenal have already lost Jurrien Timber after Riccardo Calafiori suffered an injury during the warm-up, while Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White also remain unavailable.

In that situation, the return of first-choice centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes is very helpful, although it remains uncertain whether the Brazilian is ready to start from the first minute.

Hoping to rise from the bench, Eberechi Eze has registered five goal contributions in four home Premier League matches against Aston Villa, and has also scored in his team’s final league match of the year in each of the last three calendar years.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)

Meanwhile, the match-winner against Chelsea has rediscovered his sharpness at the Emirates with four goals from five Premier League appearances, meaning Ollie Watkins is almost certain to be preferred over former Arsenal player Donyell Malen.

Emery must also make two enforced changes after Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara received one-match suspensions due to card accumulation.

Amadou Onana is expected to replace Kamara, while Lamare Bogarde could fill the right-back role.

The visitors remain without defenders Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres, as well as midfielder Ross Barkley. Ivory Coast forward Evann Guessand is also away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

With the impressive form of both teams and an increasingly intense rivalry, this match is certain to be one of the most anticipated fixtures at the end of the year.

The Arsenal vs Aston Villa Lineups December 2025 highlight just how tight the competition is, and the result of this match could prove decisive for both clubs as the Premier League season continues.