Chelsea’s focus is back on the Premier League this weekend when they host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea won 2-0 away at Heidenheim on Thursday evening in the Conference League, while Aston Villa recorded a goalless draw at home to Juventus a day earlier in the Champions League.
The Blues now play at home to Villa on Sunday afternoon in a Premier League fixture.
Enzo Maresca has been pretty consistent with his starting line-ups for the league schedule. Will he be tempted to rotate during a very busy period, though?
Peter Crouch thinks Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen deserves a league start, but he’s currently the number two goalkeeper behind Robert Sanchez.
Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Morgan Rogers of Aston Ville during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Chelsea FC at Villa Park on April 2...
Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
Alan Shearer predicts Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Alan Shearer has tipped Chelsea to beat Villa tomorrow in their league meeting.
“Aston Villa are on a bit of a tough run at the moment, they were very unfortunate against Juventus, and Chelsea are on the up and looking strong,” Shearer told The Metro.
“I think I’ll go for a Chelsea win with the form they’re in. I think they’ll take the points. Prediction: Chelsea win.”
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Chelsea have two wins and two draws in their last four league matches to build a bit of momentum. In contrast, Villa have two defeats and two draws in their previous four league games.
Chris Sutton similarly predicts Chelsea to beat Villa in Sunday’s clash, but the latter have won their previous two league visits to Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson vs Ollie Watkins
There’s will be plenty of top-class players on display for both Chelsea and Villa in their upcoming game. In particular, there’s likely to be two of the top central strikers in the Premier League on the pitch.
Nicolas Jackson has impressed as the first-choice Blues frontman, while Ollie Watkins leads the line for the Midlands club.
Let’s take a look at how the rivals compare so far this season:
Player Appearances (Starts) Goals Assists Shots on target Passes completed Fouls drawn Offsides
Nicolas Jackson 12 (12) 7 3 17 123 12 6
Ollie Watkins 12 (12) 6 2 13 90 14 2
Nicolas Jackson vs Ollie Watkins in the 2024/25 Premier League season via FBref
The winner of the individual battle above could go a long way to deciding Sunday’s result.
Maresca says Chelsea’s Jackson can improve his finishing and link-up play, but it’s been a really positive campaign from him so far. In fact, he’s probably slightly eding Watkins in terms of level of performance this year.
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