At A Glance
Chelsea are in town for a Super Sunday clash this weekend as Aston Villa go in search of three Premier League points at Villa Park.
The home side are on a run of four games without defeat, drawing three and securing a 1-0 win against Southampton on their last outing in B6.
Ashley Young’s first goal for the club since 2011 saw Steven Gerrard’s team come from behind to earn a point at Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
Graham Potter has begun his reign at Chelsea with four wins in his first five matches, seeing his side concede just twice in that span.
A 2-0 victory against AC Milan at the San Siro in midweek boosted the Blues’ hopes in the Champions League, while they’ve put together three consecutive wins domestically.
Potter has been in charge for two of those victories, seeing off Crystal Palace (2-1) and Wolves (3-0) last time out.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa's solitary victory in the past 10 league meetings came at home on the final day of the 2020-21 season (D1, L8).
Chelsea have won six of their last eight away Premier League games against Aston Villa, as many as they had in their first 19 visits.
The home side can earn successive Premier League home victories in the same season for the first time since January 2021.
Villa's only win in the past 15 league games against London opposition was 2-1 at Crystal Palace last November.
Aston Villa's last nine league goals have been scored by nine different players.
Chelsea have won three league games in a row and are looking to earn consecutive clean sheets in the division for the first time since March.
The Blues could lose as many as three of their opening five away games of a Premier League season for the second time, having done so in 2015-16.
Raheem Sterling is one short of 50 Premier League away goals. He hasn't scored in any of his four league appearances at Villa Park.
Graham Potter's two wins in 10 attempts as a manager against Aston Villa both came at Villa Park: 3-0 for Swansea in the 2018-19 FA Cup third round and 2-1 for Brighton in the 2020-21 Premier League.
Potter has taken 19 points out of a possible 24 in his eight league matches as a manager this season for Brighton and Chelsea.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa and Chelsea met at Villa Park on Boxing Day in 2021, producing four goals between them in an entertaining contest.
Matt Targett’s deflected cross put the hosts ahead before Jorginho hit back from the penalty spot to see the sides level at half-time.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku headed the visitors in front in the second half before Jorginho’s second spot kick of the day wrapped up the win.
Team News
Leon Bailey is set to return to Villa’s squad after a one-game absence, with Cameron Archer also available despite an ongoing niggle.
Lucas Digne, Diego Carlos, Ludwig Augustinsson and Boubacar Kamara remain out.
Reece James and N’Golo Kante are long-term absentees for the Blues.
Wesley Fofana is also sidelined for Sunday’s game, but Hakim Ziyech is in contention to return.
The Boss
“I wouldn’t argue or debate whether they have the favourites tag. They’re a team full of world-class talent. They’ve got academy kids who’ve developed and become top players. They’ve recruited extremely well. They’ve changed manager of late and seem to be in a honeymoon period. Everything points to them being favourites in the game, but this is at Villa Park. We’re a bit frustrated that we haven’t taken wins from our previous two and we want to use that frustration in the right way. We want to take the game to Chelsea and be as aggressive as we can.”
Steven Gerrard
