Chelsea head to Villa on Wednesdayplaceholder image
Chelsea head to Villa on Wednesday | Getty Images
A look at the pundit predictions for Chelsea’s big away clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Chelsea return to action on Wednesday night, and it is arguably the biggest game of their season so far after a defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. The Blues are now six points off the top four, and the team they are chasing is Aston Villa, so a defeat here would open up a nine-point gap and leave Chelsea’s top four hopes in pieces.
Liam Rosenior’s men will be hoping to reduce the gap to three, while Villa will be hoping to get back to consistent form having lost a third place they had a strong grip of for months. Ahead of what will be a fascinating game at Villa Park, we have rounded up the predictions from BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton and SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson.
Paul Merson
“Chelsea weren't great in the first half against Arsenal. But in the second half, for 25 minutes or so, they dominated the game. It even looked like they might win. Discipline kicked them in the back again though. Such a bad red card for Pedro Neto.
“I still think Chelsea are playing well enough to get a result in this game. If Chelsea can win here, it's game on in the race for top five! If they lose, it's the end of it for them. Nine points behind Aston Villa with nine games to go? I think it is just too many to make up.
“If Villa beat Chelsea, I think that will be enough for them to finish inside the top five and qualify for the Champions League. Even if they get beat by Manchester United in their next league game, they would still be at least six points ahead of Chelsea with just eight matches left.
“I have a feeling Manchester United and Liverpool will finish inside the top five. Whoever loses this game, will have it difficult in my opinion. Chelsea will have to trust Alejandro Garnacho in the absence of Pedro Neto. I don't like playing Cole Palmer out wide because he's more effective down the middle. Estevao is injured. So who else have they got?
“Villa are not playing well at the moment. I fancy Chelsea. Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea.”
Chris Sutton
“Aston Villa are on a terrible run and are going to fall out of the top four at this rate. Chelsea are not exactly flying at the moment either, but their biggest problem is that they can't keep 11 players on the pitch - they probably would have got something against Arsenal on Sunday if not for Pedro Neto's silly red card.
“It's hard to back either team to get the win, so I am going to sit on the fence here. Prediction: 1-1.”
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