Aston Villa vs Chelsea Preview

Aston Villa and Chelsea will face off in the league this Saturday. The hosts will be looking to maintain their push for the top four while the visitors will be desperate to bounce back from their most recent disappointment.

Aston Villa maintained their quest for Champions League football next season with a 3-1 comeback win over Bournemouth last time. That win was followed by the news that manager Unai Emery had signed a contract extension. The Spaniard coach has made Aston Villa a force in England and with a win here, his charges can open up a nine-point gap between them and chasing Tottenham, albeit they’ll have played three more games.

The home faithful will undoubtedly be confident having seen their side go unbeaten in five matches at Villa Park (W4, D1), a sequence that’s seen them score 14 times. Chelsea are the next visitors to try to breach the fortress. After winning the reverse fixture in September, Villa will be looking to do the double over the Blues for the first time in the Premier League era – last achieving such a feat in 1989/90.

Unlike the mood at Villa Park, it’s been a terrible few days for Chelsea who followed up their FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City with a 5-0 loss to London rivals Arsenal in midweek–the first time they’ve ever lost a Premier League London derby by five goals.

Another unwanted record came their way after that defeat with Chelsea’s 57 goals conceded this season—the most in any Premier League campaign—and they’ve still got six games remaining. A 13-game streak without a clean sheet away from home hasn’t helped that tally. However, a turnaround could be on the horizon as the Blues have won six of their last seven visits to Villa Park (L1)—including a victory here in the FA Cup in February.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table