Aston Villa vs Chelsea tips and predictions: Villans to strengthen Champions League credentials with Blues win

Things are going good for Aston Villa at the moment, barring any slip ups they could be weeks away from securing Champions League football, they're in a European semi-final and Unai Emery has signed a new contract extension. 

Emery must be one of the leading contenders for manager of the season given that Villa were just above the drop zone when he joined in October 2022 and they are now on the brink of something special, qualifying for Europe's premier club competition for the first time since the 1982/83 season, when the competition was still called the European Cup. 

The next stop on the Emery express is a home fixture against Chelsea, who are a far cry from the sides that won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021. 

It looked like there was some life left in Chelsea's season after their 6-0 win against Everton catapulted them into the race for Europe.

However, their defeat to Man City in the FA Cup semi-final followed by a weak surrender in the 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal has brought Mauricio Pochettino's men back to square one.

It was a case of no Palmer, no party during the Blues' defeat at Arsenal, as top scorer Cole Palmer was absent through illness and it's currently unknown if he'll be back to face Villa.

One player who would be pleased to see Palmer absent is Ollie Watkins, who is just one goal behind him in the race for the golden boot. 

Watkins has 19 Premier League goals this season, his best season at this level, and he has not just been on fire in front of goal with the 28-year-old also being top of the assist chart with 12, two more than his nearest competitors and he will see this game as an opportunity to add to both tallies.

Chelsea's defensive fragilities were there for all to see against the Gunners, but this has been an issue for the Blues since the turn of the year, conceding 26 goals in 12 games, an average of 2.2 per game. 

While Villa have been excellent this season, they are always prone to letting a goal in, conceding at least one goal at home on 13 occasions in the league this season and their games this season average 3.6 goals per game. 

Chelsea's performances have been as inconsistent as the British weather in summertime this season, but one thing that has been consistent has been their inability to win against the current top four. 

The Blues have played the current top four seven times and have failed to win any of them games, with four draws and three losses and we're backing those three in the L column to become four, as Villa on their own patch are too hot to handle for most teams nevermind a weak and dysfunctional Chelsea. 

Team news

Aston Villa are without Nicolo Zaniolo, Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Alex Moreno, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendia who are all ruled out with injury. 

Douglas Luiz should return to the Villa midfield after he served his suspension for accumulating 10 yellow cards.

Cole Palmer could return to the Chelsea side after he missed out at Arsenal with illness.

Malo Gusto, Ben Chilwell, Levi Colwill, Christopher Nkunku, Robert Sanchez, Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana are all out with injury for the visitors. 

Key stats

- Aston Villa have won just one of their last seven home games against Chelsea across all competitions

- Unai Emery has the best win percentage of any Aston Villa manager (59%)

- Chelsea have not kept a clean sheet on the road in all competitions since October 2.

- In Chelsea's last seven Premier League games, there has been 35 goals, an average of five per game

Suggested bets: 

Aston Villa to win

Ollie Watkins to score and assist

Over 3.5 match goals