Chelsea face a tricky test on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge.
The Villans are arguably the Premier League’s in-form side at present, with Unai Emery’s team having won 11 of their last 12 matches in the competition.
Villa therefore sit third in the top flight table, one place and seven points above the Blues.
Enzo Maresca’s side came from behind to draw 2-2 against Newcastle United in their last outing, with the west London side’s inconsistent run of form continuing.
Now, away from the action, it is emerging that Chelsea have become the latest top Premier League side to join the race for one of the competition’s top scorers.
According to TEAMtalk, both Chelsea and London rivals Arsenal have joined the race for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.
Semenyo has scored eight goals so far this term (Photo: Every Second Media/Alamy)
Semenyo, 25, is one of the most in-demand players in the Premier League at present, having scored eight goals in the first 16 games of the league season.
Manchester City and Manchester United are said to be leading the race to land the attacker at present, while Liverpool made initial contact in November but haven’t since followed up on it.
Tottenham Hotspur are also said to be keen on the Ghana international, however they are struggling to convince the player to move to north London and can therefore be considered out of the race.
While Arsenal are said to so far have just made an initial enquiry about the forward, the report claims that the Gunners could even consider pursuing a move to sign the player in order to prevent title rivals Man City from signing him.
Semenyo was the subject of interest from elsewhere over the summer but ultimately signed a new contract with the Cherries, which is set to run until 2030.