Chelsea’s win vs Leicester City on Tuesday did wonders for our top four hopes and today, we have a chance to claim our position in the Champions League places, something that I think we richly deserve. Here’s my preview for Aston Villa vs Chelsea.
Current form
Chelsea
Last five games (all comps) – WLLWW
As I mentioned in the introduction, our last game saw us grab a crucial victory over fellow top four chasers Leicester. That game was a welcome return to winning ways after the Foxes beat us in the FA Cup final and we lost 1-0 to Arsenal in the league the two games prior.
Before the game against Arsenal, we went unbeaten in seven games in all competitions, having to deal with our FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and a mammoth Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid. We passed those tests with flying colours, but now Aston Villa stand in our way of securing a top four finish.
Aston Villa
Last five games (all comps) – WLDLW
Aston Villa enter the final Premier League matchweek having had a rather topsy-turvy run of form in their last five games. Their last game saw them overcome a lacklustre Tottenham side 2-1 after they went winless in the three games before their trip to London.
With Jack Grealish returning to the starting XI for the first time since February in their game against Spurs, Villa will be hoping he can lead the team to victory against Chelsea to end the season on a high.
What is at stake for the teams?
Chelsea: Win at all costs
Despite the wild full-time celebrations in the 2-1 victory over Leicester on Tuesday, Chelsea still have to win against Villa – relying on Leicester or Liverpool to drop points against their respective opponents cannot be in the players’ thoughts.
If Chelsea drop points, they could be in real danger of not finishing in the Champions League spots come 6 o’clock this evening.
Aston Villa: Purely playing for pride
Aston Villa currently sit 11th, sandwiched between Leeds United and Wolves. With Leeds being four points above Villa and Wolves seven points behind Villa, this game is one that Villa would love to win in front of their 10,000 fans, whilst also hampering Chelsea’s top four desires.
A win certainly wouldn’t get Villa jumping for joy, but getting a victory against a team who are Champions League finalists certainly wouldn’t do the Villains any harm whatsoever.
Team News
Chelsea
After N’Golo Kante came off injured vs Leicester in midweek, I expect his replacement on the night, Mateo Kovacic to start in place of our Duracell bunny Frenchman.
The other absentees from Tuesday in Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz I don’t expect to start but I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one of them make an appearance of the bench.
Apart from that, the rest of the team from the Leicester game remains the same.
Chelsea Predicted XI: (3-4-3) Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva; Rudiger, James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Pulisic, Werner
Aston Villa
Aston Villa are likely to remain without defender Matty Cash and winger Trezeguet, so I expect them to stick with the same team that beat Tottenham on Wednesday. As always, their main threats will stem from the excellence of Jack Grealish, so Chelsea need to be on their A-game in adhering to any threats that Villa pose.
Aston Villa Predicted XI: (4-2-3-1) Martinez, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Nakamba; Traore, Grealish, El Ghazi; Watkins
Final thoughts
Most people are probably bored of this saying by now, but once again, this game could be seen as the biggest of our season so far. Whether we get Champions League football or not has a huge bearing on how we approach next season, and with what Thomas Tuchel has done since he has come in – not just improving the way we play football, but for the belief he has injected into the fanbase going forward – that has to count for something and I’m sure the players will be up for the challenge.
Like most teams that see themselves as the underdogs coming up against Chelsea, I expect Villa to cause us some issues during the game. As we have seen in recent times, when we face teams that have nothing to play for, they usually spring a few surprises.
Form suggests Chelsea will win and I think we will but this will not be an easy game and once again, our top four hopes come down to the final day of the season.
Game: Aston Villa vs Chelsea
- Venue: Villa Park
- Kick off: 16:00 BST
- Date: May 23rd 2021
- Referee: Stuart Attwell
- Coverage: Sky Sports
Written by Luka Foley (@UOGLuka)
Edited by Tom Coley and Rob Pratley
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