Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi forms the backdrop for an all-Premier League mid-season encounter between Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Following an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Championship side Cardiff City in their opening mid-season friendly, Aston Villa shared the spoils with Brighton & Hove Albion in a dynamic 2-2 draw last time out, with all four goals in this contest arriving beyond the 65th minute. As one of the most exciting Premier League teams to watch, the ‘Lions’ have seen their last five matches produce over 2.5 goals and both teams score, highlighting the potential for an end-to-end affair. Topically, three of Villa’s five previous meetings with Chelsea have contained 3+ total goals, suggesting a high-scoring theme could indeed be the order of the day.

In the meantime, Chelsea massively underperformed on the eve of the World Cup break, losing three consecutive fixtures across all competitions, including a morale-damaging 1-0 league defeat at Newcastle United last time out. New manager Graham Potter has already found himself under heavy scrutiny after his team lost ground in the top-four race in the Premier League. With fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur eight points clear, the ‘Pensioners’ have to launch a substantial winning streak when the Premier League returns to action on Boxing Day. First things first, Potter must address Chelsea’s scoring woes during the off-season after his men failed to find the back of the net in three games on the trot. Having scored in their last 12 clashes against Villa, the Londoners should be confident of ending their scoring drought here.