Two Premier League teams with aspirations of securing a top-four finish lock horns at Villa Park on Saturday evening as Aston Villa play host to Chelsea.
Unai Emery's side will be seeking revenge against the West Londoners after they suffered a 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge at the beginning of December.
Match preview
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Aston Villa have failed to win any of their last five Premier League matches and have frustratingly drawn four of those, most recently sharing the spoils with leaders Liverpool on Wednesday night, with Unai Emery admitting afterwards that a point apiece was a fair reflection of the competitive clash.
The Lions were ahead at the break as goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the contest around after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring, but in a free-flowing clash with numerous chances, Liverpool restored party through Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected strike to rescue a 2-2 draw.
Although Villa have won just six of their last 21 Premier League matches (D9 L6), Emery's side sit ninth in the table and remain in contention to secure Champions League football for a second successive season, as they are only five points behind Manchester City in fourth and four points behind both Bournemouth and Chelsea in fifth and sixth respectively.
No Premier League team have drawn more home matches this season than Aston Villa (seven), but they will still welcome a return to Villa Park on Saturday, as they have only lost one of their last 22 top-flight matches in front of their own fans - a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in August.
However, Villa have come out on top in only four of their last 15 league encounters with teams from London (D6 L5), having previously won 10 consecutive games against capital-based clubs between April 2023 and February 2024, while they have also won just two of their previous 11 PL home meetings with Chelsea, beating them 1-0 in March 2014 and 2-1 in May 2021.
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After enjoying an impressive 12-game unbeaten run (W9 D3) between November 3 and December 22, Chelsea's form has since taken a nosedive as they have won just three of their last 10 matches in all competitions, including three defeats in their last four.
The West Londoners will be keen to see the back of Brighton & Hove Albion, as they suffered back-to-back away defeats against the Seagulls in two different competitions, losing 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round before going down 3-0 in the Premier League a week last Friday.
In their most recent defeat to Brighton, Chelsea failed to have a single shot on target for the first time in a Premier League game since September 2021 and Enzo Maresca, who labelled his side's performance as "the worst" since he took charge of the club, has seen his side drop down to sixth place in the table, albeit only one point behind the top four.
Maresca will be demanding a response from his players on Saturday and will be keen to see Chelsea's away form improve, as they have failed to win any of their last six matches on the road in all competitions (D2 L4) and have scored just two goals in their last five Premier League away fixtures (D2 L3).
There is reason for Chelsea to be optimistic of success at Villa Park, though, as they have won 13 Premier League away matches against Aston Villa, only winning more at Tottenham (16) and Southampton (15) in the division's history. The Blues can also take inspiration from their three-goal victory over Villa earlier this season.
Team News
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Aston Villa will be without injured quartet Pau Torres (ankle), Amadou Onana (thigh), Boubacar Kamara (muscle) and Ross Barkley (calf), while Ezri Konsa and Leon Bailey (both unspecified) and both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi is ineligible to face his parent club and Villa's defence is down to its bare bones, so Emery may call upon Lamare Bogarde to play in central defence alongside Tyrone Mings if Konsa is not fit to start.
Marcus Rashford is yet to score for Villa since joining on loan from Manchester United, but he has netted four goals in eight home Premier League games against Chelsea and could retain his place on the left flank, with Morgan Rogers, Marco Asensio and Watkins also hoping to continue in attack.
As for Chelsea, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Wesley Fofana, Omari Kellyman (all hamstring), Romeo Lavia (muscle), Marc Guiu (groin), Benoit Badiashile (thigh) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspended) are all unavailable for selection.
Reece James and Tosin Adarabioyo will be pushing to return in defence at the expense of Malo Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah, while Jadon Sancho is set to replace the injured Madueke and start on the left flank, allowing Pedro Neto to move over to the right.
Cole Palmer has failed to score or assist in his last five appearances, and has not registered an assist since Chelsea beat Villa on December 1. Nevertheless, the Englishman is expected to continue in a central attacking role with Christopher Nkunku, with both players potentially sharing false nine duties.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Garcia, Bogarde, Mings, Digne; Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Watkins
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Nkunku
We say: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea comfortably swept Aston Villa aside in December, but a closer contest could be in store this time around between two top-four hopefuls who have found it difficult to grind out victories in recent weeks.
Villa have preferred playing on home soil this term and taking into account Chelsea's defensive frailties and recent struggles in the final third, we are backing Emery's side to pick up maximum points on this occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
