Eyebrows were raised when Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea last season just as he seemed to have turned things round. Enzo Maresca was brought in and the Stamford Bridge outfit are quietly getting on with the business of picking up points this season, only losing to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Chelsea are third in the table but have the same number of points as Arsenal and Brighton. A win against a struggling Villa side would almost certainly put Chelsea in second place unless City can pull off something remarkable at Anfield on Sunday.
It’s a very different story for Aston Villa. Last season went beyond the wildest dreams of most of the Villa Park faithful, as the Villans finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League. This term feels like the inevitable hangover that follows a wild night. They have now gone seven games without a win across all competitions, although they were denied a famous win over Juventus during the week when Morgan Rogers appeared to have scored a late winner only to see the goal controversially disallowed.
Still, Villa have a decent record away at Chelsea, having won on their last two visits. They will hope to kickstart their season with a positive result here or Unai Emery’s heroics of the last campaign are in danger of being forgotten.
Maresca made wholesale changes for the win over Heidenheim in midweek but will surely restore the big names to the starting 11 for the visit of Villa. Captain Reece James, however, is unlikely to feature as a result of a hamstring issue.
Villa may have Ross Barkley start against his former club but could be forced to do without the services of midfielders Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey.
The Villans have not won three consecutive matches away at Chelsea since way back in the early 1930s but now would be the perfect time to emulate those bygone days.
Click here to follow Sports betting on The Athletic and get relevant stories in your personalised feed.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa odds
Venue: Stamford Bridge — London
Time: 1:30 p.m. GMT (8:30 a.m. ET), Sunday
Form guide (league only)
Chelsea: 6-4-2, 22 points (3rd); W-D-D-W-L
Aston Villa: 5-4-3, 19 points (8th); D-L-L-D-W
Match prediction
Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa
The hosts tend not to keep clean sheets but they should have enough about them to extend Villa’s winless run to an eighth game. Whatever happens at Anfield, a win here would put Chelsea in a very decent position in the table at the start of December with fixtures coming thick and fast. Chelsea have only lost to the top two thus far this season and Villa are struggling so this feels like the ideal fixture at the perfect time.
More Premier League coverage
Predicted line-ups: Who do our writers think will start in Gameweek 13?
The Transfer DealSheet 2025: Latest on Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and more
Chelsea Transfer DealSheet: What to expect in 2025
Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: What to expect in 2025
(Photo of Joao Felix: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)
