Two
of the Premier League's top three go head-to-head when Chelsea welcome Aston
Villa to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues have matched their pre-season billing as title favourites with
aplomb so far, with four wins out of five games helping Jose Mourinho’s men
sit top of the pile.
Diego Costa’s incredible start will be one of the most pleasing aspects for
Mourinho, with seven goals already silencing many of those who doubted the
Spain striker would be a hit in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard’s late equaliser for 10-man Manchester City against a Chelsea
side he served so well over the years will have certainly had an effect on
the Blues, and Villa boss Lambert will be keen to take advantage.
The omens are not in the Villans' favour, however. Chelsea have scored 27
goals in their last seven Premier League home games against Aston Villa,
including a 7-1 win and an 8-0.
Villa will be buoyed by the fact that they have not needed many chances to
propel themselves up the table. They have attempted just eight shots on
target in five Premier League games this season; fewer than any other side.
Team news
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns after making several changes in
midweek for their Capital One Cup win over Bolton.
Midfielder Ramires has been ruled out with a groin injury, with no return
date set.
Oscar's goal on Wednesday gives Mourinho a selection headache ahead of
Saturday's encounter.
Aston Villa hope to be close to full strength after a virus hit the squad
last weekend.
A number of players were affected by a bug before, during and after their
3-0 Premier League defeat by Arsenal.
However, manager Paul Lambert believes the illness has cleared up and that
only captain Ron Vlaar (calf) and strikers Christian Benteke (Achilles) and
Libor Kozak (broken leg) are unavailable.
Opta facts
10 of the 13 points (from nine games) that Jose Mourinho has taken against
Aston Villa in the Barclays Premier League have come at Stamford Bridge.
Seven different nationalities have scored for Chelsea in the Premier League
this season, a wider spread than at any other club.
Aston Villa have not won three Premier League away games in a row since
April 2010.
However, Villa’s lofty position is somewhat of a surprise, with Paul
Lambert’s men sitting in third after a return of 10 points from their
opening five games.
Paul Merson's predictions:
I know Aston Villa had a bug last week but you can’t see them getting
anything away at Chelsea after they lost at home to Arsenal. Chelsea look to
be very efficient this year with Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa going forward
and it’s lucky Villa had a good start because they’ve got some horrible
fixtures at the moment. Villa fans can’t moan about what they’ve done so far
and they now need to find a bit of consistency.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0
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