There’s a massive game at Stamford Bridge in the teatime slot on Saturday as fourth-placed Chelsea entertain third-placed Aston Villa in what promises to be a fascinating watch.
Chelsea looked set for another defeat at St James’ Park as they trailed by two goals at halftime against Newcastle last Saturday, but a spirited second-half performance meant they left with a point.
Whilst that’s now just one win from their last five Premier League encounters (W1-D3-L1), Enzo Maresca’s men have lost just one of their previous eight (W4-D3-L1), leaving them in fourth position, seven points behind their opponents in third.
Aston Villa endured an incredibly slow start to the campaign, as they were winless in each of their opening five Premier League contests (W0-D2-L3), failing to even score a goal in their first four encounters.
However, Unai Emery’s men have gone on to win 11 of their next 12 to move them up into third in the Premier League table, just three points behind leaders Arsenal.
The latest of those victories came last Sunday, as a Morgan Rogers brace gave them a rare 2-1 win over Manchester United.
How the bookies view it: Blues favourites
Despite winning just one of their previous five Premier League encounters, Chelsea have been installed as favourites, with bet365 pricing a home success at 5/6.
Head to head: Tight encounters between the pair
Matches between the two in recent years have been tight, with each team winning three of the previous eight meetings, with the other two ending in draws.
Aston Villa won the last clash at Villa Park in February, whilst Chelsea won 3-0 at the Bridge last December.
Players to watch: More magic for Morgan
Morgan Rogers has had another impressive season for Aston Villa, with the England international scoring seven goals and providing three assists in the Premier League this campaign.
That includes back-to-back braces away at West Ham and at home to Manchester United, and he is an appealing 8/5 to Score or Assist.
Predicted line-ups:
Chelsea are still without Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia, but Estevao and Liam Delap are available once again.
Aston Villa will be without the injured Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley, whilst Evann Guessand is away to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, James, Neto, Fernandez, Garnacho, Pedro
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers, Malen, Watkins
Anything else catch the eye?
Goals have been a feature in Aston Villa’s matches in recent months, with their last 12 Premier League outings averaging 3.25 goals per game.
Over 2.5 Goals has landed in nine (75%) of those clashes – including in six of their last seven – whilst five of their previous six have produced goals at both ends.
The last four meetings between the pair saw Over 2.5 Goals land, with three also seeing Both Teams to Score, and a repeat pays an appealing 1/1 at William Hill.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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