Aston Villa is hosting Chelsea at Villa Park on Saturday, March 15th (10:30 AM Pacific, 17:30 GMT) in a Premier League battle. Chelsea sit atop the Premier League table with 66 points, while Aston Villa sit mid-table with 31 points. At this point in the season, every game will bring it down to the wire.
Chelsea have won five of their last six games, three of those wins coming from games against Everton, Manchester City, and their most recent victory, a 4-0 domination against Tottenham. Chelsea right now are the team to beat and are very strong title contenders.
Aston Villa are not nearly as hot as their opponents, with only two wins in their last six games. They will be looking to use their last game against Norwich City as inspiration to carry over into this game. Villa was able to come back from a quick deficit and showed real resilience.
Key Players
Chelsea’s key player is Cesar Azpilicueta. The young Spaniard has showed the most promise and consistency in the Chelsea squad this year. Aston Villa’s offense has a combination of power and speed through Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor. If Azpilicueta can funnel the Villa attack away from his heavily defended side, the Lions will be unable to score.
Christian Benteke is Aston Villa’s key player. If he is able to establish a dominance inside the Chelsea box, it will certainly give the Blue’s defenders a full day of work. The Belgian has a falling out in form midway through the season but had an exceptional game against Norwich last week.
Jose Mourinho will be going all out to win this game. Manchester City could easily catch up and meet Chelsea’s points. A tie for Jose Mourinho is unacceptable.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert would gladly scrape away one point from the current leaders especially with his current form.
Despite little hype this game has, it holds a huge importance for both teams. Chelsea will be holding onto their first place position and cannot forfeit any dropped points. Aston Villa will be hoping to hold their mid-table position. They are fairly safe from relegation so they will try to get as many points as possible.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea Prediction
Chelsea are clearly the favored side and will definitely come away with the win. My prediction is 2-0. Aston Villa will get some very close chances, but will lack a clinical finish. It may also be a scrappy game from Aston Villa.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea Television
The match will be televised on NBC Sports Network (USA), and Sky Sports 1 (UK).
Possible Chelsea Lineup
Click here for a full analysis of the Chelsea Lineup.
