Aston Villa – Chelsea: pressure-cooker clash in the race for Europe 
This Wednesday night the lights come up at Villa Park for a Premier League scrap that promises sparks. Villa arrive having tripped badly over their own feet against Wolves; Chelsea turn up bruised after a narrow soak at Arsenal’s Emirates.
Aston Villa need to stop the bleeding 
The grim faces keep coming for the Villans. On Friday they handed lifeless Wolves a revival with a sloppy 2-0 defeat at Molineux — Rob Edwards’ side claimed only their second win of the season.
One win from their last five league outings tells you everything: Unai Emery’s side have effectively waved goodbye to title hopes, sitting 13 points behind the leaders. Now the brief is simple and ugly: cling to a top-five spot and salvage a route back to the Champions League. To stop the slide they need to find a winning plan, fast. What better tonic than taking down Chelsea — a direct rival lurking just behind? Villa know how to bite: they nicked Stamford Bridge in the reverse thanks to Ollie Watkins’ second-half brace. The crowd dream of a rare feat — beating the Blues both home and away, something not done in over 30 years.
The Rosenior bounce is losing its gloss at Chelsea 
After an idyllic start — four wins in a row — Liam Rosenior’s side have started to skid in the race for a Champions League spot.
Chelsea are without a win in three: two frustrating home draws with Leeds and Burnley, followed by a bitter 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. Set-piece frailty did them no favours. Small mercy for Rosenior: his three defeats so far all came versus Arsenal, so he can breathe easy not seeing Mikel Arteta again any time soon. Trouble is the fixtures don’t read kindly — Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, plus that last-16 tie in the Champions League with PSG. Sitting sixth and six points behind their hosts, Chelsea have plenty to lose. A defeat would hurt on the table and in confidence.
Likely lineups
Aston Villa: Martinez ; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen ; Luiz, Onana ; Buendia, Rogers, Sancho ; Abraham
Chelsea: Sanchez ; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Hato ; Caicedo, Santos ; Palmer, Fernandez, Garnacho ; Pedro
Football Prediction Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Draw
Emery’s men have a habit of turning up for the big games at Villa Park, but their wobble right now is worrying — even allowing for the quality of their recent opponents.
Chelsea don’t exactly scream calm confidence either, though Rosenior’s overall return looks tidy (14 points from his first 7 league games). Given both sides’ recent laboured displays, expect a tight, tactical scrap that ends in a split of the spoils. A draw that, in truth, helps no one much.
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