Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back from their disastrous defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers when they pay a visit to fellow European outsiders Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.

Mikel Arteta's side were dominant at Molineux until David Luiz was sent off for the third time as an Arsenal player, and the Gunners finished that 2-1 defeat with nine men after Bernd Leno saw red in the second 45.

That loss ended the 10th-placed Gunners' seven-game unbeaten run in the top flight and they remain in mid-table obscurity, but a win here would at least see them leapfrog Villa in the thrilling battle for a top-six finish.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Arsenal could line up for the contest at Villa Park.

Out: David Luiz (suspended), Bernd Leno (suspended), Kieran Tierney (calf)
Doubtful: Mat Ryan (hip), Pablo Mari (calf)

> Click here for Arsenal's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match

Leno will serve a one-match ban for this game after he handled outside the area against Wolves, and with Mat Ryan only just making his way back from a hip problem, Runar Alex Runarsson is expected to start his first Premier League game for the Gunners at Villa Park.

Arteta has confirmed that the club will appeal Luiz's red card, but with the Brazilian also set to sit this one out through suspension at the time of writing, Gabriel Magalhaes will make a return to the first team over Pablo Mari, who is also lacking match fitness.

There was optimism that Kieran Tierney could have made his comeback at Molineux, but Arteta conceded that the left-back was not even close to being ready for the midweek game, so Cedric Soares - who has deputised well - is set for another run-out in defence.

Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey have become a first-choice midfield pairing in recent weeks and should keep their places here despite Dani Ceballos's recent return from a calf problem.

Bukayo Saka came ever so close to opening the scoring within 40 seconds at Molineux and also had a goal correctly ruled out on the night, so the exciting English youngster will hope to add to his seven top-flight goal contributions this weekend.

Emile Smith Rowe's spot in the middle of the park is safe as Martin Odegaard continues to be integrated into the team slowly, and Arteta's biggest decision comes on the left-hand side now that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back in action.

Aubameyang would normally be given the nod ahead of Nicolas Pepe, but the Ivorian has stepped up to the plate in the absence of the Gunners captain and will not want to relinquish his place here, so Aubameyang may have to make do with a spot on the bench once again as Alexandre Lacazette is unlikely to be dropped either.

Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below: