Aston Villa will look to further cement their place in the top four when they host Chelsea in the Midlands in a late kick-off on Saturday evening.
Unai Emery’s Villans are primed for a successful end to the season and have plenty to do both domestically and in Europe. They are six points clear of Tottenham having played a game more before the weekend.
Chelsea were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City and followed that disappointment with an embarrassing performance at Arsenal, where they were beaten 5-0 by their London rivals.
Here is 90 minutes Preview of Saturday’s encounter.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Aston Villa |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
|
Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth – 04/21/24 |
Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea – 04/23/24 |
|
Lille 2-1 Aston Villa – 04/18/24 |
Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea – 04/20/24 |
|
Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa – 04/14/24 |
Chelsea 6-0 Everton – 04/15/24 |
|
Aston Villa 2-1 Lille – 04/11/24 |
Sheffield United 2-2 Chelsea – 04/07/24 |
|
Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford – 04/06/24 |
Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United – 04/04/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
TNT Sports 1, Discovery+ App, TNT Sports Ultimate, Discovery+ |
|
United States |
SiriusXM FC, Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Villa can welcome Douglas Luiz back into their starting XI after the Brazilian midfielder served a ban for picking up 10 yellow cards. He will line up alongside John McGinn, with few other changes expected from the side that beat Bournemouth 3-1 last week.
Nicolo Zaniolo is on the sidelines having only just begun to show what he can do at Villa Park, while the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Alex Moreno, Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are all unavailable.
Aston Villa’s expected line-up against Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, McGinn, Luiz, Rogers; Tielemans; Watkins.
Chelsea should be boosted by the return of Cole Palmer, who missed the 5-0 defeat to Arsenal through illness.
However, Mauricio Pochettino continues to suffer from injuries elsewhere in his squad. Enzo Fernandez’s season has ended due to a groin problem, while Raheem Sterling and Carney Chukwuemeka have been blighted by knocks this week. Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Reece James, Robert Sanchez, Christopher Nkunku, Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell are all unavailable.
Predicted Chelsea line-up against Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Disasi, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.
Aston Villa have upset the natural order of the top six and could follow Newcastle in a surprise Champions League qualification campaign. They look strong in all facets and have a healthy lead over Tottenham.
Chelsea had performed decently until their elimination from the FA Cup and subsequent humiliation at the hands of London rivals Arsenal. Pochettino would have hoped his side would follow in Villa’s footsteps at this point in their debut season, but poor performances throughout the 2023/24 season mean they will be eliminated from Europa Conference League football.
Villa have more to offer than Chelsea this season and should secure a comfortable home win on Saturday evening.