Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Chelsea in pole position for Champions League spot
- Cameron Loftus
- 22 May 2021
A win against midtable Aston Villa on Sunday would see Chelsea guarantee third place and Champions League football for next season.
When: Sunday, 23 May, 16:00 GMT
How to watch: Sky Sports
Best bets
Massive midweek win for Tuchel's men
Thomas Tuchel's side took out their frustration of losing to Leicester in the FA Cup Final by putting on a dominant display at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night against the same opponents.
They deservedly took the lead through Antonio Rudiger and doubled the lead from the spot, via Jorginho.
Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for Leicester, but Chelsea ultimately dominated and deservedly won.
The win moved Chelsea above Leicester in the standings and now those two sides, along with Liverpool, will fight for the last two Champions League spots on the last day of the season.
Leicester face Tottenham and Liverpool play Crystal Palace, with all games kicking off at 16:00 GMT.
Last three Premier League meetings
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa (December 28, 2020)
This season's earlier meeting of the teams brought about the first draw in their last 13 matches against each other.
Olivier Giroud stylishly opened the scoring from a Ben Chilwell cross ten minutes before the interval.
John McGinn thundered a long-range strike against Chelsea's crossbar in the second half, but Dean Smith's men were still able to stretch their unbeaten record to five matches when Anwar El Ghazi scored a side-foot volley to notch his fifth goal in five games.
Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea (June 21, 2020)
Chelsea dominated a first-half at Villa Park but fell behind before the break. Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to hold a shot and defender Kortney Hause was there to sweep up the pieces.
Frank Lampard's team did rally though and were able to turn the game around in the space of three minutes.
Firstly, substitute Christian Pulisic scored five minutes after his introduction, swooping at the far post from a Cesar Azpilicueta cross.
Olivier Giroud was then allowed to turn in the Villa box and punished them with the help of a deflection to secure all three points.
Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa (December 4, 2019)
Tammy Abraham returned from injury to score his 11th goal of the season before providing an assist for his side's second.
Abraham bagged a header in the 24th minute, but Villa managed to equalise through Trezeguet who bundled in a cross from his fellow Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady.
However Mason Mount volleyed past Tom Heaton from just inside the 18-yard area to earn the points for Chelsea.
Premier League head-to-head
Played: 51
Aston Villa wins: 12
Draws: 13
Chelsea wins: 26
Aston Villa goals: 49
Chelsea goals: 84
What do Villa have to play for?
In simple terms: pride. They sit 11th in the league four points short of Leeds United directly above them and seven clear of Wolves below them.
However, even with little to play for against Spurs on Wednesday, Aston Villa put in a strong performance to come from 1-0 behind to win 2-1.
A spectacular own goal from Sergio Reguilon and Ollie Watkins' 14th league goal of the season meant Villa ended their away campaign in the best possible way.
From an individual point of view, Jack Grealish is a man with plenty to play for. He recently returned from injury and he will be keen to show Gareth Southgate that he warrants a place in England's Euro squad.
Dean Smith admits Aston Villa must spend to ease reliance on Jack Grealish
Scoreline prediction: Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea
A lot rides on this match for Chelsea, and they should have enough to get them over the line and into the Champions League.
Tuchel's players will be wanting to prove themselves ahead of the Champions League Final too.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, have little to play for and could understandably take their foot off the gas in the last match of the campaign.
Aston Villa have not won against Chelsea in their last seven Premier League attempts, and Sunday's seems likely to go the same way.
Goalscorer bets
Mason Mount won Chelsea's Player of the Year earlier in the week and followed that up with a super display against Leicester City.
The England international is 15/2 to score first with William Hill and 13/5 to score anytime (BetVictor).
