Aston Villa vs Chelsea
While Villa Park has lost its aura in recent seasons and been a happy hunting ground for most teams, it still remains special, for a certain special one…it’s Mourinho Kryptonite. Read on…
Worrying Comments from Jose Mourinho on Ryan Bertrand
“He has a future at Chelsea. A future and a past. Of course he has a future. The decision to him go to Villa was good because he’s playing and what he needed was to play every game. But maybe next season he is with us.”
Mourinho on Villa Park
“Tomorrow we have a very difficult game. Three points would be fabulous. One point is not a bad result at Villa Park. Zero points would be a negative result.”
Lambert on Chelsea
“We know we can hurt them because we’ve done it before. There will be a great atmosphere.
“There’s not many times when people don’t expect anything from you but everybody will think we’ll get turned over.
“But I also know we can hurt them and I think Chelsea do as well after the last game.
‘‘It will be a really tough game, they’re one of the best teams in Europe, let alone England. We have to try and do our best and try and win.”
Form is Temporary
Memory match:
17th October 2009 Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 1
Believe it or not there was a time when we used to beat Chelsea occasionally, and this Villa Park encounter saw two goals from unlikely sources – Richard Dunne and James Collins.
Aston Villa: Last five matches at home: W 2, D 1, L 2
Chelsea: Last five league matches away: W 4, D 1
In the last five visits to Villa Park, Chelsea have won three times, drawn once and lost once.
One to Watch:
Eden Hazard – The Belgian midfielder is not only Chelsea’s top goal-scorer, but their top assist provider, as well. Able to win games single-handedly and probably the top player on form in the Premier League at the moment.
Facts to Sweep Under the Carpet
Put simply, Chelsea are a force to be reckoned with. Although we recorded an excellent win against Norwich, Chelsea will be an incredibly tough test. We’ve seen how easy Villa can be frustrated at home against teams who are difficult to break down, despite us playing well. As well as being unbeaten in their last six Premier League matches, Chelsea have only conceded twice during this run. We’ve come a long way since the 8-0 defeat but we haven’t played too well against the teams near the top of the table, and Chelsea are six points clear in first place. Worryingly, we’ve lost the last four games against Chelsea.
What We Pray the Football Gods Will Provide
A win for Chelsea would be another huge step in the direction of the Premier League title and they are naturally favourites to win on Saturday. However, these are the games that sometimes suit Villa. We weren’t expected to beat Arsenal on the first day of the season, or Manchester City when they headed to Villa Park. In both of those games we conceded the first goal, so it is important that we don’t give up if we do happen to concede early on. We took our chances well against Norwich and will need to do the same against a Chelsea side who will look to control the game.
Why Villa have got this game in the bag
Amidst all the nerve-wracking stats surrounding Chelsea’s form there’s an interesting note – Mourinho has never won at Villa Park and it’s the only Premier League ground he is yet to win at. Coupled with Chelsea’s European commitments on Tuesday meaning that players could be rested, there’s a chance we could get something on Saturday. Ashley Cole and David Luiz will certainly miss the encounter. The win against Norwich saw Villa at their clinical best, chances won’t be at a premium, so Benteke and co will need to take them. With the Belgian striker back in form, the visitors will be mindful that he has scored in two of our last three encounters with Chelsea. Finally, it might be the chance to record back-to-back home wins for the first time in a long, long, long while. UTV.
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