Graham Potter’s high-flying Chelsea side are on the road to Aston Villa on Sunday as they look to extend their winning streak in top flight football to four games.
Potter’s appointment has led to a major turnaround for the Stamford Bridge giants who remain unbeaten under their new head coach and have put out solid showings both in domestic and continental football.
The former Brighton boss has taken little time to carve his authority on the side he inherited from Thomas Tuchel in September and Potter has got things going rather swiftly much to the delight of the Stamford Bridge faithful.
Chelsea picked up a 2-0 win on their trip to San Siro earlier this week which all but ensured them a spot in the Round of 16 of the Champions League despite a shaky start to their group stage fixture list.
Three successive victories have certainly come as a welcome confidence boost for the Blues who have been on top form at the back with as many clean sheets in a row.
Chelsea’s next opponent, Aston Villa, sit 16th in the league table and if rumours are to be believed, the Villa boss Steven Gerrard is close to getting the sack with his side failing to meet expectations so far this season.
Villa’s most recent outing in Premier League action against the newly promoted Nottingham Forest with the game ending in a 1-1 stalemate as Gerrard clings on to his job in the dugout in time for Sunday’s showdown against an in-form Chelsea side.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Date – Sunday 16 October 2022
Time – 3 PM GMT
Venue – Villa Park
TEAM NEWS
Midfield maestro N’Golo Kante is in line to be absent for a number of weeks after sustaining a recurrence of his hamstring issue.
Another fresh concern on the injury front for Chelsea would be Reece James picking up an issue with his knee in the win over AC Milan on Tuesday night which looks certain to sideline him for the upcoming fixture.
James’ absence opens the door for the skipper Cesar Azpilicueta to slot in the right wing-back role and leave an unchanged backline of Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Kalidou Koulibaly.
KEY BATTLE
Danny Ings vs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aston Villa, who have endured a woeful run of showings in the final third, will likely issue a recall to Danny Ings to lead the line and get the goals coming.
For Chelsea, it will be the summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, on the back of his stellar displays of late, to cause trouble for an under-fire Villa side and ensure another three points on the road for his side to move up the league table.
MATCH PREDICTION
The visitors head into the Villa Park showdown as strong favorites and we back them to clinch what should be an easy and convincing win away from home turf.
Aston Villa 0-3 Chelsea
