Premier League leaders Chelsea welcome Aston Villa to the Bridge on Saturday as they hope to keep their lead at the top of the table.
Venue: Stamford Bridge Date: Saturday, 27th September Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Chelsea are aiming to get back to winning ways after their dra against Manchester City last weekend while Aston Villa will look to recover from a three-goal drubbing at home to Arsenal last weekend.
Paul Lambert’s come into the game in a sketchy patch of form, having triumphed away at Anfield before falling at the feet of Chelsea London rivals last time out.
Chelsea are unbeaten and their draw away at the Etihad last Sunday were their first dropped points of the season.
Jose Mourinho’s men will be looking to protect their position as the only remaining unbeaten side in all competitions in England as they welcome an often unpredictable Aston Villa side.
However, the Villains have impressed this season and sit in third place in the table, just three points behind the leaders Chelsea.
Villa put a huge and eventually crucial dent in Chelsea’s title hopes last season as they beat the Blues by a single Fabian Delph goal on a frustrating evening at Villa park, and Chelsea will be out for revenge come Saturday afternoon.
In the fixture at Stamford Bridge last season, Chelsea were the victors by a single goal as they won 2-1 thanks to a Luna own goal and an Ivanovic winner either side on Benteke’s equaliser.
Chelsea are expected to be facing a couple of injury problems this week, but nothing compared to the virus that hit the Villa squad last weekend, which they have now recovered from.
Diego Costa it expected to start despite an ongoing hamstring injury but Ramires has been ruled out of the game due to a groin problem.
John Obi Mikel and Andre Schurrle are among contenders to replace the Brazilian who had been quietly crucial in Chelsea’s impressive start to the season.
There may be a change in defence if Mourinho sees Filipe Luis as a better fit to Branislav Ivanovic in facing Aston Villa’s swift counter attacks which hurt them in that defeat at Villa Park back in March.
Courtois can expect to return to the Chelsea net after Petr Cech made a cup appearance in midweek, while the trip behind the striker is likely to consist of Hazard, Oscar and one of Schurrle and Willian.
Ashley Westwood, Nathan Baker, Darren Bent and Andi Weimann have all recovered from the virus that hindered Villa’s chances against Arsenal last weekend.
Aston Villa are often hard to read but will surely make use of their array of pacey options going forward, perhaps to target the more robust Branislav Ivanovic if he were to start.
Chelsea will surely dominate and will be expected to win, particularly after labouring across the line against Bolton in midweek infront of their own fans.
The Blues will need to make more use of their chances if they are to stop a repeat of that game back in March and secure their place on top of the table for another weekend before they host Arsenal the following week.
The fans in West London will be hoping for a repeat of the 8-0 thrashing of Villa at home two seasons ago, and they would surely settle for something similar to the 7-1 drubbing they gave out recently aswell.
Chelsea v Aston Villa – Pre Match facts:
- Chelsea won four consecutive games against Aston Villa in the Premier League before last season’s 1-0 loss
- Eden Hazard has completed 31 dribbles so far, more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues this season
- Chelsea are the league’s leading scorers with 16 goals in five matches
- Mourinho has one win in his last six matches against Villa
- Villa are aiming to win three away games running for the first time since April 2010 on Saturday
Source: Opta
Chelsea v Aston Villa – Predicted lineup:
Chelsea: Courtois; Azpiliceuta, Cahill, Terry, Luis; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle; Diego Costa
Chelsea v Aston Villa – Your Predictions:
@CFCNewsApp Chel (3) vs AstVilla (1)
— LifeOfGodwin™ (@GodwinOfficial) September 26, 2014
@CFCNewsApp 3-1 Chels,Costa 2 Hazard1 #COYB
— simon thompson (@barbrady1) September 26, 2014
@CFCNewsApp 3-0 chelsea, easy win
— Alexandru Tomuta (@AlexandruTomuta) September 26, 2014
@CFCNewsApp 3-1 hazard costa amd cahill
— Maxi (@maxiperco10) September 26, 2014
