Chelsea are up against on of the most impressive teams in the last couple of years in the Premier League this weekend when they face Aston Villa.
Unai Emery has made them into a really dangerous, well drilled operation, and they’ve taken numerous big scalps.
They’re in a sticky patch of form at the moment, and it seems their European exploits are really taking their toll. While we played a B team against Heidenheim last night, they battled against Juventus on Tuesday with a full first team.
As Villa fade, Chelsea are starting to impress on a regular basis. So far our season has seen great success against the weaker sides and some struggles against the lesser teams – and Sunday is a great chance to put that right. We’ve got plenty of players in form, ready to show what they can do at home.
More Stories about Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer and Gianfranco Zola do a fun feature.
Cole Palmer waits with the ball. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Rio Ferdinand doing pundit work.
Even Chris Sutton – who is always happy to jump on a chance to criticise his old club – has come around to the idea Chelsea are pretty good now. His BBC prediction column this week has him calling us as favourites against Villa at home:
“I am backing Chelsea to take this one. They were too strong for Leicester last weekend and while Cole Palmer did not deliver, Nicolas Jackson keeps on scoring and looks like a different player compared to last season,” the pundit wrote.
Nicolas Jackson's flicked finish with his toe against Leicester. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Nicolas Jackson’s flicked finish with his toe against Leicester. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Sutton’s shout is a fair one, all things considered
He reckons we take it 2-1, and that seems a fair prediction. We’ve got no trouble scoring at the moment, but we do concede a lot. Meanwhile Villa are a good team, but one in bad form. 2-1 seems a very reasonable shout, and it would certainly be a result we’re very happy with as we look to continue climbing the table.