Chelsea vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-09-23 13:00.
Despite being relieved of the burdens of midweek continental football this season, Chelsea have confirmed their worst five-game start to a new Premier League (PL) season since 2015/16, when sacking José Mourinho one week before Christmas and finishing tenth under Guus Hiddink. That’s despite starting as pre-match favourites on four occasions (W1, D1, L2), making them an unreliable selection for success here against Aston Villa.
The fruits of spending more than £1bn on players since Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club in 2022 are yet to flower, and whilst some of their travelling fans booed the players after a scoreless PL draw at Bournemouth, head coach Mauricio Pochettino does not yet appear to be moving through the revolving door of Chelsea managers. He pleaded publicly for patience in the face of an injury list that was in the double digits leading into their previous outing, assuring supporters that a fully fit squad would be a competitive one.
It’s perhaps the ideal time then for Aston Villa to repeat their 2-0 smash and grab away to Chelsea in April 2023, which was in the midst of a ten-game PL unbeaten stretch (W8, D2). The Birmingham-based side have been on both ends of five consecutive PL matches to end with 2+ goal margins, losing heavily away to two of last season’s top-five clubs (3-0 Liverpool and 5-1 Newcastle United).
They’re also likely to be motivated by a shock UEFA Europa Conference League 3-2 loss to Legia Warsaw during the week, a competition in which they remain the outright favourites given the four Europa League titles that manager Unai Emery has won. Emery told the media his side struggled for positioning and cohesiveness without the ball, which sets this up as a fascinating battle against a Chelsea opposition that averaged more possession (69.2%) than any other side after the first five PL rounds.
Players to watch: Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson should be observed carefully by referee Jarred Gillett, having been booked in four of his five PL starts this season, leaving him on the brink of an early season ban. Villa midfielder John McGinn scored a goal in the previous PL H2H as well as in the friendly Al-Wahda Challenge Cup meeting in Abu Dhabi during the 2022 World Cup break.
Hot streak: All eight of Aston Villa’s competitive matches this season saw the winning side score at least three goals (Villa: W5, L3).