Aston Villa welcome Chelsea at Villa Park in a Premier League fixture on Saturday evening.
The Villans put a dent in Liverpool’s title hopes on Wednesday evening by holding them to a 2-2 draw at home. However, failing to beat the Reds means Unai Emery’s side have now gone five games without a Premier League win.
Meanwhile, the Blues played Brighton at the Amex Stadium in their last league fixture and lost 3-0. Before that, they were dumped out of the FA Cup by the same opposition. Enzo Maresca’s side have been very inconsistent of late and will aim to bounce back to winning ways at Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea—Team News
Aston Villa could receive a triple injury boost ahead of the game. Ezri Konsa is close to returning to the squad, while Unai Emery suggested Ross Barkley may also be available for the visit of Chelsea after missing several weeks of action.
Matty Cash returned to the squad in midweek and came on as a second-half substitute against Liverpool. Leon Bailey had an outside chance of making the squad against the Reds but eventually missed out. So, he appears to be in contention for Saturday’s fixture.
As for Chelsea, Noni Madueke suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-0 defeat to Brighton last week and has been ruled out for the next few weeks. There are no players close to returning for the trip to Villa.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea—Predicted Lineups
Predicted Aston Villa XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Lamare Bogarde, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Youri Tielemans, John McGinn; Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers, Donyell Malen; Ollie Watkins.
Predicted Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Filip Jorgensen; Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho; Christopher Nkunku.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea—Key Players
Aston Villa—Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers has been Aston Villa’s best player this season. He has grown leaps and bounds under Emery’s coaching and performed consistently. However, the playmaker had a relatively quiet night in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool. So, Rogers should be raring to bounce back with a strong performance against Chelsea.
Chelsea—Cole Palmer
It is little surprise that Chelsea’s dip in form has coincided with their talisman Cole Palmer looking a bit out of sorts of late. The England international has hit a rough patch, resulting in the Blues winning just three in their last 11 games. Maresca needs his main man to step up and get his team out of a rut. If Palmer gets back to his groove, Chelsea could prove too hot to handle for Villa.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea