Can the previous version overwrite the currently installed app?
No, you can't downgrade the app. The installation will fail (with error code [INSTALL_FAILED_VERSION_DOWNGRADE] if installed from ADB).

Normally, you need to uninstall the app/updates, then install the specific version from the APK, but doing this will also clear the data. There are alternatives to prevent that:


If you're using ADB, you can use adb install -r -d &lt;link to apk&gt; to allow downgrade (from an answer by supereee on SO)
(need root) Use AppDowner to downgrade the app (more detail on AndroidPit)
(need root) Use Titanium Backup root to backup your data, uninstall the app and install using APK normally, then restore the data (from AndroidForums)


In case of using the first 2 alternatives, you will only see the specific things from that build only, since basically you are having that version.