The Big Match: Aston Villa v Chelsea stats, team news, prediction & TV channel

Aston Villa v Chelsea

Where to watch

Sky Sports Action, 4pm Sunday

Match odds

6-1 Aston Villa, 1-2 Chelsea, 15-4 draw

Form

Aston Villa got back to winning ways at Tottenham on Wednesday night after three games without a win. While the Villans have been strong on the road this season, they have won just one of the last eight at home.

Chelsea ended a run of two straight defeats by gaining a measure of revenge over FA Cup final conquerors Leicester City on Tuesday. Having kept 18 clean sheets in Thomas Tuchel's first 24 matches in charge, the Blues have now gone four games without a shutout.

Team news

Aston Villa loanee Ross Barkley is ineligible to face his parent club. Matty Cash (thigh), Morgan Sanson (knee) and Trezeguet (knee) are all out.

Chelsea have doubts over the fitness of N'Golo Kante (hamstring) and Kai Havertz (hamstring) but could get Andreas Christensen back from a thigh injury.

The tactical battle

Playmaker Jack Grealish made a welcome return to the Aston Villa starting line-up for the first time since February 13 in the 2-1 win over Tottenham but faces a tricky afternoon up against Chelsea's smothering midfield. The Blues have tended to deploy two destroyers in the middle of the park away from home under Thomas Tuchel and are likely to stick to that gameplan to nullify Grealish, who was given too much freedom in the 1-1 draw between the sides in December.

Villa will hope to hit Chelsea on the counter, which they did with great success at Spurs. However, the Blues have been effective at preventing the opposition catching them out at the back in that manner since Tuchel's appointment and Dean Smith might need to rethink his tried and trusted gameplan.

Verdict

Having put themselves in the box seat for Champions League qualification with the win over Leicester, Chelsea look primed to finish the job. Defeats to Arsenal and the Foxes in the cup final have exposed a few flaws in Tuchel's system and Villa, who have kept 15 clean sheets this season, have the qualities needed to frustrate the Blues for a time.

However, Chelsea have proved effective at wearing teams down, and seven of their last ten goals have been scored in the second half of games. They have enough to break the resilience of a Villa side who have nothing to play for.

Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 2

Key stats

• Chelsea have won ten of the last 15 meetings with Aston Villa, averaging 2.4 goals scored per game in that time.
• Chelsea have scored in 14 of their 18 (78 per cent) away league games this season.
• Aston Villa have won only five of their last 20 final-day Premier League fixtures, losing 11
• Aston Villa haven't won back-to-back Premier League games since December.

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