Chelsea face a MASSIVE night in the Midlands, with their Champions League dreams hanging in the balance.
Liam Rosenior’s men head to Villa Park on Wednesday without a league win in their last THREE . Two draws, then a narrow 2-1 defeat to Arsenal where they played the last 20 minutes with ten men .
Now they face an Aston Villa side sitting SIX points clear in the top four race . Win, and it’s game on. Lose, and the gap starts looking very scary.
ROSENIOR’S VERDICT
“Disappointment, missed opportunity,” the Blues boss admitted after the Arsenal loss. “I think they’re the two main things. And not just from that game, from the last three games we’ve now had.”
He’s not wrong. Chelsea should have taken more from Leeds and Burnley. They definitely deserved at least a point at the Emirates.
“The performances in terms of tactically, technically, how we set up the game, very good. But in the moments that mattered, we haven’t taken advantage.”
Translation: nice football, not enough end product. Sound familiar?
THE NETO BLOW
Chelsea will be WITHOUT Pedro Neto after his second yellow against Arsenal . That’s a big miss, he’d been one of their brighter sparks.
The good news? Wesley Fofana’s back from suspension . Cole Palmer’s ready to start after that minor knock . And Romeo Lavia is “close” to making his first start since returning from injury .
“Once he’s back fit, which he is now, he stays fit,” Rosenior said, touching every bit of wood within reach. Lavia’s injury history means nobody’s taking anything for granted.
Marc Cucurella’s out with a hamstring problem, expected back for Wrexham . Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Dario Essugo are still working their way back .
THE VILLA THREAT
Aston Villa had a shocker last Friday, losing to bottom of the league Wolves when everyone expected them to cruise . That’ll have stung. And teams don’t usually drop two stinkers in a row.
Villa’s record against Chelsea is seriously impressive. They’ve won the last two league meetings . Another win tonight would make it THREE in a row for the first time since a run of four between 1978 and 1984 .
That’s proper dominance. And it shows Chelsea have a mental block to overcome as much as a tactical one.
THE PREDICTION
The bookies have this one tight. Villa Park’s never easy, but Chelsea have the quality to nick it.
Our man’s gone for 2-1 to the Blues . Palmer to shine. Lavia to make an impact off the bench. And three massive points to close that gap.
HOW TO WATCH
UK: TNT Sports 3, 7.30pm kick off
US: USA Network, UNIVERSO 2.30pm ET / 11.30am PT
THE BOTTOM LINE
Six points. Two teams. One massive night at Villa Park.
Win, and Chelsea are right back in the conversation. Lose, and that top four dream starts slipping away. Rosenior knows it. The players know it. Now they’ve got to go out and prove it.
