Chelsea and Aston Villa wrap up Saturday’s Premier League action when they clash at Stamford Bridge in the late kick-off.
The Villains find themselves eleventh in the table, having taken four points from their opening three matches this season.
Working through the international break! 💪— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 6, 2021
Working through the international break! 💪
Meanwhile, Chelsea sit fourth – three points ahead of Villa – after picking up seven points from a possible nine so far.
Following an outstanding end to the previous campaign, it looks as though Chelsea have picked up where they left off last season.
Thomas Tuchel’s men hammered Crystal Palace 3-0 before seeing off Arsenal 2-0 on Matchday 2. Last time out, they claimed an impressive draw with Liverpool.
Despite going down to ten men just before half-time, the Blues managed to hold Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Looking at the bigger picture, Chelsea have only lost three of their previous 20 matches in the Premier League.
Kai Havertz already has a goal and an assist under his belt this term, while the returning Romelu Lukaku reopened his Chelsea account on his second debut for the club.
As for Aston Villa, they were beaten 3-2 by Watford on the opening weekend before beating Newcastle 2-0 on Matchday 2.
Following a monster 6-0 thrashing over Barrow in the EFL Cup, Dean Smith’s side drew 1-1 with Brentford last time out.
The draw with Brentford means that Aston Villa have only lost one of their last six matches in all competitions.
That said, both teams have scored in each of Villa’s previous six away games in the Premier League – meaning Chelsea should get on the scoresheet on Saturday.
Head-to-head: Aston Villa beat Chelsea 2-1 back in May, although that is the Villains’ only victory over the Blues in their previous eight meetings.
Four of the last five games between Chelsea and Villa have dished up over 2.5 goals, so we should see plenty of opportunities at Stamford Bridge.
Team news: Chelsea’s Reece James will miss Saturday’s clash after seeing Red last time out. Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante are both injury doubts for the Blues.
Aston Villa could be without as many as eight first-team players this weekend, with Morgan Sanson, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore on the sidelines.
This is destined to be a close game between two attacking teams, but Chelsea’s superiority is likely to shine through on Saturday.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Chelsea will net over 1.5 goals on their way to seeing off Aston Villa – maintaining their unbeaten record this season.