The story following Aston Villa's midweek draw versus Liverpool will largely be about the latter's failure to extend their lead on Arsenal by three points in what is shaping up to be a contentious title race. But Villa deserve plaudits for their own admirable performance — one in which they actually edged their opponents out in possession, pass accuracy, and shots on target.
An early Villa error during an attempted press break saw the ball land at the foot of Liverpool's Diogo Jota, who promptly slid it across the box for an assured Mo Salah finish. A demoralizing start, to be sure. But the Villans responded impressively, continuing to play open against the league leaders and match them stride for stride. Unai Emery's side got a few let-offs in the form of missed Liverpool chances — but they did their job and were rewarded for it.
A similar approach to Saturday's fixture against an inconsistent Chelsea could yield an even more favorable scoreline for those in claret and blue. With Marcus Rashford now putting in solid work alongside Ollie Watkins and Dutchman Donyell Malen, Villa's strength going forward is imposing. Anchored by Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans, the latter of whom is back amongst the goals, their midfield is set up well to contend with that of their next opponents — who are sorely missing the presence of Roméo Lavia.
Despite sitting in ninth place, a win could put Villa within touching distance of the top four. This season, they've found the Champions League quite suits them, and they'll do whatever it takes to make sure they're under the UCL lights again in a year's time.
From where might the goals come for Chelsea?
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea suffered a decisive loss against Brighton last time out — having no answer to the three goals that the Seagulls put past them. Any team that has 70 percent of the possession and manages no shots on target, as was the case for Chelsea last weekend, need to take a long look at their options going forward.
Cole Palmer's gone cold in front of goal, and both Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke are out injured for the foreseeable future. Frenchman Christopher Nkunku, who arrived at the club amidst one of its shopping sprees in 2023, has (so far) failed to fill in the gap, leaving Chelsea without any goalscoring threats. Who then, can step up for the Blues? Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto seem the most likely options, but neither of them are necessarily solo creators. Maresca's job may depend on him finding a way to weather the injury storm for the rest of the season, and doing so means playing a type of soccer that I'm sure nobody involved in Chelsea will particularly like.
It's either cede possession and set up the low block or start putting shots on target. Saturday's match at Villa Park will be incredibly instructive in just which way Chelsea are headed from now until May.
Aston Villa vs. Chelsea news, predicted lineup and score
For Villa, Ezri Konsa, Leon Bailey, and Ross Barkley are all expected to return for Saturday's match. Amadou Onana is nearing return from a muscle injury, but Emery has stated that this weekend is too soon for the Belgian. Defensively, Villa will miss out on the presence of Axel Disasi, who is on loan from Chelsea and can therefore not face his parent club.
As alluded to, Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, and Roméo Lavia are all sidelined for Chelsea. Defenders Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are both working through thigh injuries and are eyeing March for their returns, but right back Malo Gusto is back in action.
Aston Villa predicted line up: Martínez, García, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers, Asensio, Rashford, Watkins
Chelsea predicted line up: Jörgensen, Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernández, Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Nkunku
Predicted Score: Aston Villa 2-0 Chelsea
How to watch Aston Villa vs. Chelsea
- Date: Saturday Feb. 22
- Start Time: 12:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Villa Park — Birmingham, England
- Watch: NBC Sports Networks
Kickoff for the match is 12:30 p.m. ET, on Saturday, Feb. 22. The game will be broadcast exclusively on NBC Sports Networks.