Premier League: Aston Villa vs Chelsea Live
Preview: Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Aston Villa vs Chelsea is scheduled for Villa Park on Saturday at 7:00pm as the blues seek to get back to winnings ways to fuel their quest for European football next season. During midweek, the Lions staged a comeback to defeat Bournemouth 3-1, while the Blues suffered a 5-0 loss to London rivals Arsenal.
Aston Villa has had a successful few days, starting with a 3-1 comeback win against Bournemouth in the Premier League. This was followed by the announcement that manager Unai Emery had signed a contract extension. Emery’s team is aiming for a top-four finish and is currently looking to widen the gap between themselves and Tottenham by nine points, despite having played more games.
The home fans are optimistic as Villa has been unbeaten in five matches at Villa Park, scoring 14 goals in the process. The next challenge for Villa is Chelsea, who they will face after winning the previous fixture in September. Villa will be aiming to secure a double victory over Chelsea for the first time in the Premier League era, last achieving this in the 1989/90 season.
This Chelsea team seems ripe for the taking, especially after their recent poor performances. Mauricio Pochettino’s team suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Arsenal, their first ever loss by five goals in a Premier League London derby. The Chelsea manager was blunt in his assessment, criticizing his team for being soft and accusing them of giving up.
This defeat also saw Chelsea set an unwanted record for conceding the most goals in a Premier League season, with 57 goals against them so far. Their defensive struggles are evident in their 13-game run without a clean sheet in away matches. However, there may be hope for improvement as Chelsea have a strong record at Villa Park, winning six of their last seven visits, including a recent FA Cup victory in February.
Head-to-head
These two teams faced each other in the 4th round of the FA Cup nearly three months ago. Chelsea progressed with a 3-1 away victory in the replay after a goalless draw in the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Aston Villa secured a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture during the first half of the Premier League season.
Prediction
The blues has been having difficulty scoring goals in their recent games, but the potential comeback of their leading goal scorer Palmer could greatly benefit the team. This would be especially helpful as they face Villa, who have only managed to keep two clean sheets in their last 11 league matches. Considering the history of the previous three encounters between these teams this season, it is likely that the upcoming match will be closely contested and entertaining, possibly resulting in a draw.
