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Aston Villa vs. Chelsea FC
While Christmas is celebrated over the weekend in Germany and much of the world, the traditional Boxing Day takes place in England on the 2nd day of Christmas. The entire Premier League is active and on Sunday at 18:30 Aston Villa hosts Chelsea FC. It is the penultimate matchday of the year and things have been much better for the Villans since the change of manager and the team has been able to free itself from the relegation battle for the time being.
The Blues, on the other hand, are in a bit of a crisis and have had to relinquish the top spot in the table to Manchester City. With only one win from the last 4 games, Thomas Tuchel’s team has slipped to 3rd place and now finds itself in the chasing pack. The gap to the Skyblues is 6 points and if Chelsea want to become champions, they should find their form of the first months again. A good start would be a win on Saturday against Aston Villa and whether we think they can do that, find out in this Aston Villa – Chelsea tip.
Aston Villa – Chelsea info:
– Date & Time: 26.12.2021, 18:30 Uhr
– Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)
– Competition: Premier League, Matchday 19
– TV broadcast: Live on Sky Sport
Aston Villa Form & Balance Check
Aston Villa were also among the teams whose games were postponed last weekend due to the pandemic. Now they have had just under 2 weeks off and none other than Chelsea FC await. But since Steven Gerrard took over as coach 6 weeks ago, things have been going much better for Villa and they have won 4 of the 6 games under Gerrard. Especially defensively the team is much better now and 2 of the 4 wins were to nil. Against the two almost overpowering opponents Man City and Liverpool, the team had to admit defeat, but the performance was nevertheless decent.
Can Gerrard make his mark on an era at Aston Villa?
The English legend has already made a splash at Rangers, but with all due respect, the Scottish league is a very different level to the English. However, as mentioned, the start was promising and Gerrard seems to be a real coaching talent. The team was hugely unsettled and had lost five in a row before his arrival. Now they have moved away from the relegation places and are in a solid 10th place.
Aston Villa facts & analysis
– Last 3 home games all won.
– Top scorer is Watkins with 5 goals.
– They have always scored in 5 of the 6 games under Gerrard
Chelsea form & balance check
After an incredible start to the season and hardly conceding any goals, the team has slumped a bit recently. Only one win from the last 4 games, plus some bad luck with injuries. The star player Lukaku has had an extremely dry spell and has not scored since his brace on matchday 4, against Villa of all teams. However, the Belgian is extremely important to the play of Thomas Tuchel’s side and that was evident in the last league game against Wolves, when a clear target man was missing and Lukaku was out due to a Corona infection.
Championship chances are sinking
Currently Chelsea occupy 3rd place and are 6 points behind league leaders Man City. For a long time, the reigning Champions League winners have topped the table, but due to the aforementioned small form crisis, Chelsea have to line up behind City and Liverpool for the time being. But nothing is lost yet and the gap can certainly be closed. The only question is whether the Blues are currently in a position to do so, as several regular players are missing and the tank is empty after an energy-sapping year. We are curious to see if the team will come back in the title fight.
Chelsea facts & analysis
– Chelsea have only conceded 12 goals in 18 games.
– They have the third best attack in the league
– Away from home they score just under 2 goals on average per game
Predicted lineup – last updated Dec 23, 2021
Steven Gerrard may not change his line-up much as the team has become more settled of late. Young might not be able to start due to an injury, but former Leverkusen player Bailey could get his chance. For the visitors, we expect various changes and many returnees compared to the game during the week. It is quite possible that “Big Rom” will be back, but Jorginho is also likely to make his starting eleven comeback in the centre.
Aston Villa – Chelsea direct comparison & Statistics
Both teams have been playing in the Premier League forever and there have been 143 times of this duel in the highest English division. The direct comparison is relatively even and while Aston Villa have won 52 times, the Blues have done so 58 times.
– The comparisons between the two clubs last season: 2-1 (home to Aston Villa) and 1-1 (home to Chelsea FC)
– Aston Villa have scored in every home game so far.
– A year ago Chelsea FC were in 10th position in the table with 26 points. Currently they are in position 3 (38)
