There is an interesting match on the schedule of the English Premier League on Saturday evening, the attractively playing Aston Villa will meet the improving London side Cheslea at Villa Park. The home footballers are having a very successful season, while the Blues, on the other hand, have lost their last two league matches.
At the beginning of this year, few people predicted that the team around the Spanish strategist Unai Emery would fight their way to the very top of the English top flight. It is Emery who is rightfully credited with the biggest share of the Villans’ success. Before his arrival, Aston Villa were in the lower levels of the table, the previous coach Gerrard was even fired at a time when the club was threatened with relegation to the Championship after a bad start to the season.
However, the Villans are currently in fourth place, and with a few rounds to go, they have a real chance of advancing to the Champions League group stage. The end of the season will be very demanding, however, in addition to league matches with Chelsea, Brighton and Liverpool, Unai Emery’s men also face the semi-finals of the Conference League, in which they will face Greek Olympiakos Piraeus.
Aston Villa is also plagued by numerous injuries. In addition to the long-term absentees Jacob Ramsey, Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendía, the recently injured Nicolo Zaniolo will not be available on Saturday. Full-back Alex Moreno won’t help the Villans either.
Even so, the hosts are considered favorites in the match against Chelsea. The Blues did not manage to score a goal in the last two games and thus ended the series of good results. In the semi-final match of the FA Cup at Wembley, they played an even match against the strong Manchester City, but in the end the Citizens rejoiced at the progress to the final, when the only goal of the match was scored at the very end by the Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side wanted to bounce back quickly from disappointment, and Tuesday’s London derby with Arsenal should have been the perfect opportunity for that. But the Gunners clearly dominated the match and, as expected, they handled Chelsea without any major problems. Goalkeeper Petrović conceded five straight times, and also destroyed several other great chances. English defender Alfie Gilchrist will not remember his debut in Chelsea’s starting line-up well either.
The calamity of injuries in the Blues camp also contributed to his deployment. Eight A-team players will not be available on Saturday either, the start of experienced Ben Chilwell is also uncertain. Chelsea fans are anxiously waiting for a statement from the club’s management on the health of Cole Palmer, who was absent from the match with Arsenal due to illness.
Aston Villa – probable line-up:
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Luiz, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers; Watkins
Chelsea FC – Probable Squad:
Petrovic; Disasi, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Sterling; Jackson
Tipsport odds: 2.15 – 3.98 – 3.21
Tip EuroFotbal.cz: 0
