Aston Villa vs Chelsea prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2025-02-21 17:30.
[p]Aston Villa’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Wednesday night was their fourth draw in five Premier League matches (L1) as loanees Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford made their first starts for the club. That five-match winless sequence is now their longest in the top flight since a run that ended in December and included a 3-0 reversal against Chelsea. [/p]
[p]Now trailing their visitors by four points, victory here would move Villa closer to qualifying for Europe next term as they start the round just inside the top half. The form book would suggest they have a good chance of doing so at home, where Unai Emery’s side have only lost once at home in the league this season (W6, D7), while they’ve incredibly lost just one of their last 22 Saturday-held Premier League home games (W16, D5).[/p]
[p]Chelsea have struggled of late with just two wins across their last nine league fixtures (D3, L4) and their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton in their last match was their heaviest Premier League defeat of the season, while they failed to muster a single shot on target. This could be the perfect game in which to bounce back though, as Chelsea have won 13 Premier League away games against Aston Villa, only winning more at Tottenham (16) and Southampton (15) in the competition’s history.[/p]
[p]The Blues are unbeaten across their last four visits to Villa Park (W3, D1), with all three of those wins by two-goal margins. Repeating the feat would require them to end their five-match winless away league run (D2, L3), failing to score in three of those outings, but they’ve tended to find the net on a regular basis at Villa Park, scoring 2+ goals in seven of their last eight visits. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ollie Watkins was on target for Villa against Liverpool in midweek for his third goal in four appearances, while 11 of his 12 scoring appearances this season came in games that saw both teams score. All four of Pedro Neto’s goals for Chelsea this term came in the second half, although he’s yet to find the net away from home for the Londoners.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Prior to the matchday, Chelsea have scored a Premier League-high six away league goals before the 15th minute this term.[/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington[/i][/p]