Aston Villa vs Chelsea FC- Preview

The Blues return to action after 3 months of no football as they face Aston Villa. Chelsea who currently are placed 4th on the table, will travel down to Villa Park, would be looking to secure all 3 points. Since Manchester United drew their first match in return against Tottenham Hotspurs, it gives Chelsea a chance to extend their lead between them.

From Lampard’s Press Conference

• Ruben Loftus-Cheek is physically fit and has looked good in training ahead of the season restart.

• When asked about Pedro and Willian “’They’re ongoing and we have until next week to find a solution. It will be good to finish the season with the squad we started with.’”

• Tomori has a muscle injury, maybe due to the stress of getting fit quickly, and is out for 10 days.

• Hudson-Odoi had a small injury earlier on and is not match fit, albeit he is physically fit.

• Jorginho is suspended after picking up 10 yellow cards this season.

• Tammy who missed previous 3 games due to an ankle injury in March, could feature for tonight’s game.

• Andreas Christensen would be featuring despite breaking his finger in training 2 weeks ago

Match Preview

A win would put Blues 5 points ahead of Manchester United, and would be in a comfortable position to earn the Champions League Spot. Aston Villa, playing at home will have that advantage for this game with Jack Grealish would be posing some threat at the front. On the other hand, Chelsea has scored 29 goals from last 14 league away matches this season.

Head to Head

In overall head to head stats between Aston Villa & Chelsea, Chelsea have 63 wins, 57 losses and 34 draws. At present Blues have 5 consecutive wins against the Midlands club, starting from 2014-15 season. Villa’s last victory against Chelsea came in March 2014, and are yet to win against the Blues since. Over these 5 games, Chelsea have scored 12 goals and Villa were only able to score 2.

Reunion with John Terry

This game would be more emotional for Chelsea fans, as they would be seeing club legend and ex-captain, John Terry at the opponent dugout. Frank Lampard who was our vice-captain, will be re united with his ex-team mate.

Predicted XI

Chelsea are expected to play in 4-2-3-1 formation against Villa. The midfield will be the focal point of Chelsea’s press and build up play against a good counter attacking opposition. This is the team we can expect for the game:

Photo Courtesy: www.buildlineup.com

Memories at Villa Park

Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea, May 11, 2013

This game would be a memorable one for all Chelsea fans around the globe. The Blues went 1-0 down and were down by a man before HT. During the 2nd half, our gaffer Lampard scored both the goals which not only secured us 3 points, but made Frank Lampard Chelsea’s all time top scorer surpassing Bobby Tambling.

Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea, Feb 21, 2009

Chelsea secured a hard fought win against Aston Villa with Nicholas Anelka scoring the only goal of the game. This was our 1st win at Villa Park since 1999, and this win was crucial for Guus Hiddink’s side.

My prediction for the final score is Villa 0-2 Chelsea with the blues dominating the possession.

Keep the Blue Flag Flying High…!!!

- Archith Shriram Ramesh