Arsenal come into this game on the back of a nervy 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw them retain their two-point lead over City at the top of the table. Villa, meanwhile, needed a brace from substitute Ollie Watkins, to notch up a comeback 2-1 win away to Chelsea, thus extending their winning run to 11 games.

Arsenal face Crystal Palace in a rescheduled Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Emirates as Chelsea FC await the winners. The Gunners and the Eagles saw their cup tie moved from last week due to Palace’s participation in the Europa Conference League,

Arsenal vs Aston Villa is scheduled for an 8.15pm GMT kick-off on Tuesday, December 29, 2025. The match will take place at Emirates Stadium, in north London. TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting on Sky Sports Premier League at 6.30pm.

One of those games was the controversial fixture which saw Declan Rice sent off but across both games, Brighton generated more xG overall (3.28) than Arsenal did (3.02). With quite a few of his squad returning from injury, coupled with a full week's worth of rest in a busy December, Brighton ought to be the fresher side.