Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he would be ‘surprised’ if Aston Villa manage to keep a clean sheet for their upcoming clash against Arsenal.
After starting the season with four wins on the bounce and conceding only two goals, Villa have managed to ship seven during their defeats to Leeds and Southampton.
Whilst Dean Smith won’t be too worried as of yet, the Villa players have allowed old habits from last season to creep back into their game.
Lawrenson shared his brief thoughts on Villa’s defence ahead of their trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening and thinks they will lose the contest 2-0.
“Aston Villa have leaked a few goals in the past couple of weeks and I would be surprised if they manage a clean sheet here,” said Lawrenson.
From the perspective of scoring goals, Villa have failed to score only once in the Premier League this season and they have secured maximum points and two clean sheets on the road from their two games.
They face off against an Arsenal side brimming with confidence because of that victory at Old Trafford last time out and the fact that they have the best defence in the league.
The game will also see Emiliano Martinez return to face his former club and he will be hoping to stop the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from causing havoc.
Either way, the Gunners should be favourites for the encounter because they go into the match in better form.
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