Date: Saturday 22nd
February 2025
Venue: Villa Park
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
After last week’s debacle, this evening’s game sees us
travel to Villa Park.
We beat Villa 3-0 in the reverse fixture when we were having
a decent spell but that feels like a lifetime ago given the tripe we’ve been
served up for weeks on end now and last week’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton was about
as bad as it gets. Everything about that game summed up Maresca’s stance. He
battered home the “overachieving”, “not a top four side” narrative until it
started to be reflected in performances. Add the accumulating injuries and a
pair of completely ineffective SD’s into the mix and it really isn’t a surprise
we’ve slipped out of the top four – I don’t see us getting back there this
season either.
After a bizarre about-turn this week, where clearly the
puppet master had a hand up his back, we’ve heard the ‘intention’ has always
been “to win games, win titles and bring the club back to where it deserves to
be”, but we’ve yet to see anything like that intention on the pitch. In fact,
from the minute he put his stamp on the side, we’d struggle to resemble Bristol
Rovers nevermind the Brighton side they’re on so oddly obsessed with. Chelsea
have failed to win any of the last six away games in all competitions, losing
the last three in a row and we failed to make a single shot on target against Brighton
last week.
On to today’s game though, and our opponents sit ninth in
the table and have gone five top-flight games without a win, but they drew 2-2
against Liverpool last time out, in a game they battled for a result in a way I
haven’t seen us do in a very long time. They are also unbeaten in 13 at Villa
Park and that won’t change today because whatever Maresca’s narrative is this
week, the script won’t change.
.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
tonight’s game, Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery, says “Chelsea is really a
very good test, collectively, individually, very good test. In the table we are
more or less under our target, and tomorrow we have to try to get this
opportunity again to try to compete and to try to get three points.
Of course,
two years ago, last year, the first match we played this season against Chelsea
was a different moment. Now, hopefully, we can feel stronger. Last year against
Chelsea at home, in the FA Cup we were out, in the Premier League match we
played more or less in February/March, we compete very well but we draw. They
were always demanding (of) us a lot, always. This year we played there in
London, we lost and we deserved to lose. We didn’t perform, we didn’t compete
like I think we have to, to get to the level we achieved last year. This year,
more or less, we are achieving something, but not consistency. Tomorrow is the
test, and tomorrow I am motivated preparing (for) the match. I am motivated
preparing, as well, our team, analysing the match we played on Wednesday. We
analysed before the matches we played with the players we have now, with the
new players as well. And of course, the most important, how they are
responding, being as well motivated to try to help us.”
Enzo
Maresca, meanwhile, says “Probably after the international break, we can
have most of the players back, maybe all of them and for us it can be a big
boost. We spent almost all the season in the top four and with 13 games to go,
the target, for sure, is top four. We will try our best to achieve that knowing
the difficult moment we have now with five or six significant players out.
I’m here
to win games and bring this club fighting for titles. The problem is when you
win games, you look humble and when you don’t win games, you look like a lack
of ambition. The team spirit in this moment has to be upset. We are upset
because we are not happy with the results in this moment. We are all aware
where we are in a club. We are not here to survive, we are here to win titles
and fight for that.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Aston Villa, Ross Barkley, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Pau Torres are all out. Axel
Disasi is ineligible to face us but Ezri Konsa may be able to replace him. Leon
Bailey could also return to the squad.
For Chelsea, Romeo Lavia (thigh), Wesley
Fofana (hamstring), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Marc Guiu (groin), Nicolas
Jackson and Noni Madueke (both hamstring), are all injured. Mykhaylo Mudryk
(suspended) also remains out.
TEAMS
ASTON
VILLA (Possible line-up): Martinez; Garcia, Bogarde, Mings, Digne;
Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Watkins
CHELSEA
(Possible line-up): Jorgensen; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella;
Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Nkunku
LAST SEASON
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea
(27 April 2024)
CURRENT FORM (ALL)
Aston Villa: WDDLDD
Chelsea: DDWLWL
OTHER STUFF
- Aston Villa failed to win any of their four
meetings with Chelsea in 2024.
- Chelsea have won 13 Premier League games at
Villa Park.
- Aston Villa have won two of their last 11
top-flight home games with Chelsea.
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in 13 Premier League
home games.
- Aston Villa have gone five top-flight games
without a win.
- Chelsea have failed to win any of their last
six away games in all competitions.
- Chelsea have only accrued nine points from the
last nine Premier League games, after taking 34 from their first 16
fixtures this season.
- Chelsea have scored just twice in their last
five top-flight away games.
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea
