Prediction: Aston Villa vs Chelsea

30th March 2012

Relegation-threatened Aston Villa are set to welcome in-form Chelsea in what should be a very interesting game at Villa Park. The Blues go into the game in buoyant mood after the Champions League victory over Benfica and they are looking to continue the good run of results.

This season is turning out to be a major disappointment for Aston Villa, even though everybody expected to see an uptrend in fortunes when Alex McLeish took over the reigns last June. Nonetheless, some nine months later the Villans are out of both cups and fighting for Premiership survival, which is something similar to what they experienced last season. In all fairness, Alex McLeish’s side have had their share of injury problems this season and that could be one of the reasons for under par results, but failure to compensate for the departures of Ashley Young and Stuart Downing is probably the main reason why Villans are unable to reach their potential. The 3-0 defeat to Arsenal showed just how far Aston Villa are from England’s top sides at the moment, and with Alan Hutton, Richard Dunne, Darren Bent, Charles N’Zogbia and Fabian Delph all missing out through injury, the hosts don’t look capable of stopping high-flying Chelsea.

There were many of those who didn’t believe Chelsea would be able to save this season when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked few weeks ago, but caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo has done a tremendous job since, as a result of which the Blues are still in contention for two major trophies as well as a top 4 finish. Chelsea have now won five of seven games when the Italian was in charge and they are looking much better than just few weeks ago. The Champions League victory over Benfica helped the players restore the lost confidence following two under par results in the Premiership and Blues now look a good bet to beat underperforming Villa at their own ground. Fernando Torres is slowly rediscovering his form and he should again be preferred to Didier Drogba, whereas Salomon Kalou is likely to keep his place after scoring the winner at La Luz. Branislav Ivanovic remains doubtful with a thigh problem, but the good news is that he is the only injury worry at the moment.

Conclusion

Aston Villa appear to be struggling for form at the moment and with several important players missing out they face a tough task against very good Chelsea side. The Blues are doing great under Roberto Di Matteo and they have got to be considered favourites to claim maximum points at Villa Park.

Verdict: Away win Chelsea (2)

Best Odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: Paddy Power