Chelsea can inflict more misery on out-of-form Aston Villa when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Blues are unbeaten in their last five games across all competitions and go into the game at Stamford Bridge on the back of a 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League - though it was with a heavily rotated starting lineup - on Thursday evening.
Furthermore, in the Premier League, Chelsea’s only defeat since the opening weekend of the season against Manchester City remains the 2-1 loss at Anfield last month.
So whilst Enzo Maresca may not feel his side are genuine title contenders, there is a scenario where the West London outfit end the weekend either second place in the table or six points behind leaders Liverpool.
Still, they will have to be wary of Villa, who have a good recent record at Stamford Bridge, and will be desperate to end a run of seven games without a win across all competitions after being denied a last-gasp win over Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa is scheduled for a 1.30pm GMT kick-off time on Sunday 1 December 2024.
Stamford Bridge will host.
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Sky Go app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog!
Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto, Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez could all return as Maresca reverts back to his Premier League starting XI after making wholesale changes against Heidenheim.
Captain Reece James is likely to miss out after his latest hamstring setback and there will be a check on Christopher Nkunku who came off with a knock in the Europa Conference League clash.
Villa have doubts over midfield pair Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey but Ross Barkley is in contention to feature against his former club.
Cole Palmer is expected to be recalled for Chelsea’s game against Aston Villa.
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While Villa should take confidence from recent results at Stamford Bridge, these are the games Chelsea have to win to prove their top-four credentials.
Chelsea to win, 3-1.
Chelsea wins: 65
Draws: 35
Aston Villa wins: 55
Chelsea FC to win: 4/7
Draw: 23/10
Aston Villa to win: 16/5
Odds via Betfair and subject to change.