Aston Villa must be clinical against Arsenal

Aston Villa will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when they face an Arsenal side that have faltered in recent weeks.

The visitors to Villa Park have lost four of their last six games in all competitions and have endured a dreadful week. Arsenal lost the North London derby to rivals Spurs 3-2 after leading by two goals and then was surprisingly defeated by Braga in the Champions League.

Gerard Houllier will be looking for his side to get back on form after their disappointing loss to Blackburn Rovers last weekend and they are 13/5 to keep all three points at Villa Park.

The French manager should be happy to hear inspirational Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will miss the game after being hit with a hamstring injury during the defeat in Portugal.

Before last weekend's loss, Villa were unbeaten in four games but their lack of finishing prowess has played against them as too many matches are ending in draws as they are unable to finish teams off – with Saturday's game priced 12/5 to end in stalemate.

Steward Downing is the club's top scorer in the Premier League with four goals, while fellow midfielders Marc Albrighton and Ashley Young have scored three and two each respectively.

What has to disappoint Houllier and Villa fans is the performance of the club's strikers. Injuries have dogged his forwards throughout the season but the statistics show Gaby Agbonlahor has not scored in the Premier League, while Emile Heskey and Nathan Delfouneso have only found the back of the net once each. Agbonlahor is seen as the biggest Villa threat at 7/1 to be the first goalscorer, with Young and Delfouneso at 9/1.

Villa are unbeaten on home turf but have drawn more than they have won. If Houllier wants to climb the Premier League then they need to be more potent at home.

They will face a tough challenge from a strong Arsenal side and Villa's goalscoring threat will be depleted by the fact Albrighton will miss the game surgery to remove his appendix.

It will be interesting to see if Robert Pires gets a start against his former side, but his experience could be vital as Arsene Wenger's side know they could rise to the top of the Premier League if they win on Saturday lunch time.