Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Chelsea head to Villa Park to take on Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa, desperate to snap a five-game winless streak on the road (D3, L2). 

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery celebrated a come-from-behind 3-1 win against Bournemouth last time out with a well-deserved contract extension, a fitting reward for steering the Lions to the Champions League group stages for the first time in the 21st century. Virtually unplayable at Villa Park, Emery’s men have gone unbeaten in their last five competitive home games (W4, D1) while netting 14 goals in the process. After a narrow 1-0 win in September’s reverse fixture, Villa can complete their first league double over Chelsea in the Premier League era, last achieving this feat in 1989/90. However, that’s far from a foregone conclusion, considering the Villans have suffered as many as five defeats across their last six home league H2Hs against the Blues (W1), conceding 2+ goals in each loss.

In the meantime, it’s been a rough week for Chelsea as they followed up a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final tie with an embarrassing 5-0 league loss to crosstown rivals Arsenal in midweek. Amends for that humiliation and their first-ever 5+ goal margin loss in a Premier League London derby will be at the forefront of Mauricio Pochettino’s mind, with the Blues’ European ambitions hanging by a thread. Three points off seventh-placed Newcastle United, the visitors need to get back on their feet, but a 13-game league run without an away clean sheet can’t inspire much confidence. Neither can the fact Chelsea have conceded 57 goals this season – their worst record in the Premier League era.