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| Aston Villa has the chance to steer further clear from Tottenham in the race for fourth, will Chelsea let them? (Photo credit: GOAL) |
Aston Villa has played two more games than Tottenham, but a six-point cushion over Spurs and a five-goal advantage gives them a quality advantage over Ange Postecoglou’s team.
Chelsea fans must be fuming after what happened over their last two games. They crashed out of the FA Cup after a terrible performance against a seemingly week-long Manchester City side and went to the Emirates on Tuesday to concede five goals without scoring any.
Chelsea’s season is as good as done, but, with two games in hand, the possibility of finishing in the Europa League position is giving faint hopes of a strong finish, but not on the evidence of their performance against the Gunners.
Aston Villa is in a good place; they could get over the line in the top four races as early as next weekend if they win against Chelsea, and Spurs fail to pick results at home against Arsenal, but Unai Emery’s men still have to travel to Brighton and Palace either side of the visit of Liverpool to Villa Park.
There’s also a big possibility of European success for Aston Villa. They have a two-legged date against Olympiacos in the semifinals of the Europa League. The dream is alive for Villa; every game is important for them.
Chelsea will welcome Cole Palmer back into the starting lineup after he missed the Arsenal game due to illness. Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka are both in training and could feature, but the Blues have lost Raheem Sterling, Enzo Fernandes, and Levi Colwill to injury, bringing an end to their respective seasons.
The game will be feisty; both sides have desires, but expect the home side to blow Chelsea out of the waters early before Emery begins to chop and change ahead of the game in midweek against Olympiacos. Chelsea could smell blood depending on the line-up Emery employs.
Nicolas Jackson is in the eye of the storm. The former Villareal man has missed too many chances in recent games, including the one on Tuesday against the Gunners. He will hope to redeem himself against Aston Villa.
Villa is the favorite to win this game; the European game could be a factor, but they won’t take chances as the fourth spot guarantees a spot in the Champions League next season. On Saturday, the neutrals will enjoy a game.