Latest EPL standings as well as fixtures and results are found below the predictions.
Chelsea go into their final English Premier League fixture of the season at Aston Villa still needing a win to be sure of Uefa Champions League football next season.
With the late-season form of deposed champions Liverpool throwing the cat among the EPL pigeons, both they and fifth-placed Leicester can still push the Blues out of the reckoning if they slip up at Villa Park.
Even four wins out of the last five, including a potentially pivotal success against the Foxes last time out, still leaves boss Thomas Tuchel with work to do.
The German coach has already tasted disappointment with FA Cup final defeat against the same opposition last weekend, with his side’s EPL finale swiftly followed by this season’s Champions League final against Manchester City.
Third is as good as it can get for the Blues, with their recent home loss to London rivals Arsenal putting paid to their bid to pip Manchester United to second spot.
N’Golo Kante’s injury scare looks set to be just that, although he is highly likely to be kept in reserve here with the European final also in the offing.
Kai Havertz could also be fit to feature, with too much at stake for Tuchel to make wholesale changes to his starting line up.
Aston Villa have downgraded their status from shock European contenders to a season of steady progression under the charge of home town hero Dean Smith.
The Villans are nailed on to finish 11th in the Premier League table no matter the result here, below Leeds and above West Midlands rivals Wolves in the final reckoning.
It’s a far cry from the relegation drama of their last campaign, as the Birmingham club look to firmly establish themselves in the top flight once more following their spell out in the cold of the Championship.
They pulled off yet another fine result on their penultimate outing, too, seeing off Tottenham 2-1 in their own back yard on Wednesday night.
On loan Ross Barkley can’t play against his parent club, so has featured in claret and blue for the final time, while Douglas Luiz is a candidate to return to the midfield.
Trezeguet, Matthew Cash and Morgan Sanson are all crocked for the last assignment of the campaign.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea: By the numbers
- Coming into this game, Aston Villa has picked up 5 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 1 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in an intriguing 4 of those games. Aston Villa has scored 7 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- In the last 5 matches for Aston Villa, 4 of those games has ended with both teams scoring. This season 17 matches (47% of all matches) involving Aston Villa has seen BTTS landing.
- Coming into this game, Chelsea has picked up 12 points from the last 5 games, both home and away. That’s 2.4 points per game on average. BTTS has landed in just 2 of those games. Chelsea has scored 7 times in the last 5 fixtures.
- Superb stuff from Chelsea away from home, where they are currently unbeaten in 8 games. Can they go another game without defeat?
- Chelsea will be looking to keep up the momentum today against Aston Villa, having lost just 1 game from the last 5. They have won 4 and drawn 0
- Just 2 of the last 5 games for Chelsea has ended with both teams scoring. They have won 4 of those 5 games. Overall, BTTS has landed in 15/37 games for Chelsea this season.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea: EPL starting XI prediction
Probable Aston Villa Starting XI: Emiliano Martinez, Ahmed El Mohamady, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Matt Targett, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey, Bertrand Traore, John McGinn, Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins.
Probable Chelsea Starting XI: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz.
Get the all the English Premier League predictions, fixtures and results for 23 May 2021 here.