Aston Villa

vs

Chelsea

Preview

Aston Villa

• The contrasting tactical flexibility and philosophy of Unai Emery and Liam Rosenior will face off in a vital Premier League battle on Wednesday when Aston Villa take on Chelsea.
• Aston Villa have won nine of their 14 home games this season.
• Aston Villa average 1.43 goals per game at home this season.
• But the common feature of both systems is the use of overlapping full-backs to give the team width and depth in the attack while the wingers cut in to probe the half-spaces for goals.
• Villa’s current EPL form has not been strong with only one win in their last five, although two of the four other games were draws.
• The Villans are third in the EPL table with 51 points from 28 games.

Chelsea

• Rosenior’s 4-3-3 system has a similar positional flexibility, moving into a 3-2-5 in possession to create a central overload while employing disciplined pressing to deny opponents the ball.
• Chelsea have won six, drawn four and lost only three of their 13 Premier League away matches.
• Chelsea average 1.92 per away match.
• His side have been more consistent recently, losing only once in their last five, and are sixth in the EPL with 45 points from 27 matches.

Head-to-Head

Key Players

• Joao Pedro, with 11 goals in 27 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, has scored five of the Blues’ last 12 EPL goals and is the man to watch in attack.
• Morgan Rogers has been a steady source of goals for Villa with eight in 28 EPL games and is the best pick in the anytime scorer markets.

Betting Insights

• Chelsea are 2.42 for the win with Villa a close second at 2.7, although our recommended bet is the draw at 3.5 as both sides appear evenly matched after Villa's 2-1 away win in the reverse fixture two months ago.
• Both teams are regular goal-scorers in their home and away games, respectively, so the Over 2.5 market looks good at 1.65.

Prediction