Chelsea are looking to kickstart their season when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League this Sunday afternoon.
The Blues have endured a rotten opening few weeks of the new campaign, winning just one league match against newly-promoted Luton Town. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have failed to score in successive matches resulting in a defeat to Nottingham Forest and a draw with Bournemouth as talk of crisis begins to accelerate.
It’s been something of a rollercoaster ride for Villa supporters already this season, the Midlands side having won three and lost two of their opening five league games. Heavy defeats to Newcastle United and Liverpool, as well as a narrow loss to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League, will concern Unai Emery ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa H2H record (last five games)
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Chelsea could field a pretty impressive starting lineup of injured players, with the Blues still missing a number of key men for the visit of Aston Villa.
Christopher Nkunku, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marcus Bettinelli, Armado Broja and Benoit Badiashile are still missing for Pochettino, with several of those absentees not likely to return for some time.
Moises Caicedo’s fitness still needs to be assessed after suffering a knee injury on international duty and missing the Bournemouth draw. Noni Madueke and Marc Cucurella could also be involved having recovered from injury and illness respectively.
While it’s near impossible to predict how Chelsea will line up with so many injury concerns and Pochettino frequently changing his system, the Blues could revert back to a 3-4-2-1 for the visit of Villa.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (3-4-2-1): Sanchez; Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Gusto, Fernandez, Caicedo, Chilwell; Sterling, Gallagher; Jackson.
Emery made a number of changes for Villa‘s disappointing 3-2 defeat in Poland on Thursday, with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, Matty Cash and Douglas Luiz not starting.
A number of them should return to the lineup for the trip to Chelsea, although Villa do still have a few players missing. Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia will not be available for the journey to Stamford Bridge, while the game could come too soon for the returning Bertrand Traore.
Watkins and Diaby are certain to start in attack, while Luiz should take his place back off Youri Tielemans in midfield. Alex Moreno has been on the bench for the last two matches as he eases his way back into the first-team picture, although he may not be ready to start against Chelsea.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Luiz; Diaby, McGinn, Bailey; Watkins.
Chelsea’s dismal start to the season could get even worse when Villa arrive at Stamford Bridge this Sunday. The Villans won this fixture last season and are exactly the type of high-intensity, well-organised side that will cause the Blues lots of issues.
Despite the money spent by Chelsea, it wouldn’t be ridiculous to suggest Villa’s starting lineup is just as strong as the Blues’ in most areas. The likes of Diaby, Watkins and Leon Bailey could punish a backline lacking in confidence.
Although there is the possibility that fatigue will dampen Villa’s chances of success, they are still well placed to pile more misery on Pochettino this Sunday.
Score prediction: Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa
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