On the back of contrasting results in the previous round of Premier League fixtures, Aston Villa and Chelsea renew acquaintances at Villa Park on Saturday evening.
While the Lions came from behind to beat Bournemouth 3-1 last weekend, the Blues were on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline at the hands of London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday.
Since losing 4-1 at Manchester City at the beginning of April, Aston Villa have collected seven points from their last three Premier League games to put themselves in the driving seat to secure their first top-four finish since 1995-96.
The Lions were forced to play out a 3-3 draw with Brentford a few weeks ago, but they have since beaten both Arsenal and Bournemouth, with goals from Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey securing a comeback victory – their 20th of the season – over the Cherries at Villa Park last weekend.
Unai Emery, who extended his contract as Villa manager until 2027 on Tuesday, has four games remaining to secure Champions League football for the West Midlands outfit, who sit fourth in the table and can move nine points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a win over Chelsea, although Spurs will then have three games in hand, starting with the North London derby on Sunday.
Aston Villa are sure to have one eye on their Europa Conference League semi-final with Olympiacos next week, but they must first shift their focus to Saturday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea and will endeavour to complete their first league double over the Blues since 1989-90, after winning 1-0 in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in September last year.
Only the current top three in the Premier League have accumulated more home points at this stage of the season than Aston Villa (38), who have also won four of their last five matches at Villa Park in all competitions, but Emery’s men were beaten the last time they played host to Chelsea, losing 3-1 in an FA Cup fourth-round replay in February.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
