Aston Villa will look to take another giant step towards a top-four finish when they tackle Chelsea on Saturday evening in the Premier League.
Unai Emery’s troops, should they win, could be as many nine points clear of Tottenham before they kick off against Arsenal in the crunch north London derby on Sunday afternoon, but as things stand, Villa have currently played two games more than Tottenham.
In stark contrast, Chelsea have been in disarray, and an FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City at Wembley last weekend was compounded a few days later with a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Arsenal.
On the team news front, Douglas Luiz is likely to be called upon for Villa after serving a two-game suspension, but Nicolo Zaniolo is poised to miss out through a muscle injury.
Anyway, can Chelsea shelve their woes and derail Villa? I have scurried over to the betting markets and plucked out a couple of tips for you to pore over ahead of kick-off.
Aston Villa to tighten grip on fourth
To date, it has been an incredible campaign for Villa. Few would have expected them to be in the top four before the start of the season, and their case wasn’t helped with an opening-day 5-1 drubbing away to Newcastle.
But they have gone from strength to strength. Villa have a Europa Conference League semi-final tie to look forward to next month against Olympiacos, which raises the spectre of silverware being added to the trophy cabinet.
Back to the here and now, Chelsea have been dogged by inconsistency and they are struggling to capture their best form under Mauricio Pochettino.
Against Arsenal, they were run ragged and torn from limb to limb. Aside from denoting their heaviest defeat across all competitions against the Gunners, the Blues have now conceded 57 times in the top-flight; representing the most goals they have leaked in a single campaign.
When you factor in Chelsea have won just one of their last eight games outside of London (D2 L5) with their last victory away from the Capital coming against Luton back in December, this underlines the scale of the challenge facing them.
Villa, meanwhile, could equal their highest number of victories (21) in a single Premier League season by picking up all three points against Chelsea at Villa Park, and they are aiming to complete their first league double over their opponents since 1989-90.
To kick things off, I’m going for Villa to win and the Over 2.5 goals line to be met which is priced at an enticing 19/10 with William Hill.
Ollie Watkins to break new territory
Spearheading Villa’s charge for a coveted Champions League has been Ollie Watkins.
31 goal involvements (19 goals and 12 assists) from 33 league games is phenomenal, and while Watkins didn’t get on the scoresheet against Bournemouth last weekend, he made a nuisance of himself.
Watkins relishes facing Chelsea judging by the fact he’s scored in his last two league appearances against them, albeit at Stamford Bridge.
No Villa player has ever scored three in a row against the Blues in the league, but I have a hunch Watkins will achieve that.
He could do it in style, and for my second pick, I’m going with Watkins to grab a double. He’s currently available at a sumptuous 13/2 with bet365.
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