Chelsea will travel to Birmingham this Sunday to face Aston Villa in the eleventh round of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)
Key Statistics
Aston Villa have not scored more than one goal per game in their last seven league games.
The hosts have lost just one of their forum league games at home this season.
Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in a row.
They have won their last four games.
The Blues have scored 2+ goals in each of their last four games.
Head to head
In 54 Premier League meetings between both sides, Chelsea have 28 wins while Aston Villa have 13 wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Aston Villa: D-D-W-D-L
Chelsea: W-W-W-W-D
Aston Villa
Aston Villa will look to extend their run of games without defeat when they host high-flying Chelsea this Sunday.
Steven Gerrard’s men have enjoyed a recent upturn in results, with four of their last four games ending in either a win or a draw (W1, D3). Their last outing was a 1-1 draw with lowly Nottingham Forest, a game that saw them come from behind to claw back a point.
While they have not been defeated recently, Gerrard will feel that his side deserved more. On Monday night’s draw with Forest, Villa controlled more of the ball and should have easily won the game.
But a lack of invention and a clinical edge in front of the goal restricted them to just two shots on target at City Ground. Gerrard has called on his strikers and creative players to step up to create and finish chances for his side who have failed to score over one goal in any of their last seven league games.
He will welcome Chelsea to Villa with his side sitting in 16th place, just three points ahead of 18th-placed Wolves. While the calls for Gerrard to be sacked have died down in recent times, the Liverpool legend will know that a humiliating loss to the Blues will rekindle calls for his head.
And so he will be desperate for his side to put on a brave performance akin to the one that saw his side snatch a 1-1 draw against Manchester City in this ground last month.
Possible Aston Villa starting line-up
Emi Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Ashley Young; John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz; Philippe Coutinho, Emiliano Buendia; Ollie Watkins.
Injured: Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne, Boubacar Kamara, Ludwig Augustinsson
Doubtful: Leon Bailey
Suspended: None
Chelsea
Chelsea continued their impressive start to life under Graham Potter with another routine win over AC Milan at San Siro on Tuesday.
Goals from Jorginho and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang gave the Blues a 2-0 win over ten-men Milan and put them in a commanding position in Group E.
The result was their fourth win in a row and extended their unbeaten start under Potter to give games (W4, D1). The former Brighton coach has revived Chelsea and now has them sitting inside the top four after nine rounds of games.
The Stamford Bridge side come into this tie trailing Arsenal by six points. But should they maintain their form, which has also seen them keep three clean sheets and concede just twice under Potter, they will be considered title contenders in no time.
For now, they will hope to beat Villa and extend their unbeaten run against their hosts, having won two of their last three head-to-head meetings (W2, D1).
Possible Chelsea starting line-up
Kepa Arrizabalaga; Trevoh Chalobah, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva; César Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell; Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Injured: Ngolo Kante, Wesley Fofana, Hakim Ziyech
Doubtful: Reece James
Suspended: None
Prediction
Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea
