It has now been confirmed that the Premier League's top five teams will qualify for the Champions League this season. Chelsea and Aston Villa are currently sixth and seventh, respectively, but Unai Emery's side sure has the inside track on the Blues.
Premier League table
TEAM | RECORD (last five games) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
Liverpool | W-W-W-L-W | 76 |
Arsenal | D-W-W-D-D | 63 |
Nottingham Forest | W-W-W-L-L | 57 |
Newcastle | L-W-W-W-W | 56 |
Man City | L-D-W-D-W | 55 |
Chelsea | W-L-W-D-D | 54 |
Aston Villa | L-W-W-W-W | 54 |
Bournemouth | D-L-L-D-W | 48 |
Fulham | L-W-L-W-L | 48 |
Brighton | W-D-L-L-D | 48 |
Brentford | L-W-L-D-D | 43 |
Crystal Palace | W-W-D-W-L | 43 |
Everton | D-D-L-D-W | 38 |
Man United | D-W-L-D-L | 38 |
Tottenham | D-L-L-W-L | 37 |
Wolves | D-W-W-W-W | 35 |
West Ham | L-D-L-D-L | 35 |
Ipswich | L-L-W-L-D | 21 |
Leicester | L-L-L-L-D | 18 |
Southampton | L-L-D-L-L | 10 |
Unai Emery is more experienced than Enzo Maresca
There is no doubt that Unai Emery is a better manager than Enzo Maresca. Emery has transformed a team struggling under Steven Gerrard into one still currently in the Champions League this season. Emery has a far greater CV than the Chelsea boss, as he has won the Europa League four times and Ligue 1, while Maresca has only won the Championship.
Emery is also highly regarded at Villa and has an excellent relationship with their supporters. The same cannot be said for Maresca at Chelsea, who appeared to blame their fans for the Blues conceding one of their goals against Ipswich Town last weekend. There is a disconnect at Chelsea, while there is unity at Villa, and this will be crucial heading into the business end of the season.
Villa's remaining fixtures are more favorable
Villa will likely exit the Champions League today. They are currently 3-1 down to Paris Saint-Germain going into the second leg of their quarter-final tie. While this will be disappointing for Emery, it will ease their fixture congestion heading into the final few months of the season.
Emery will then be able to focus solely on domestic competition. They have difficult Premier League games approaching against Newcastle United and then Manchester City. However, following those fixtures, Villa will be favorites against Fulham, AFC Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur and then Manchester United on the final day.
The team from Birmingham also have the FA Cup to focus on with their semi-final at Wembley Stadium against Crystal Palace on April 26. We have seen how much of a boost a cup win can be as Newcastle ended their trophy drought by lifting the EFL Cup earlier in the season. The same effect could happen to Villa, especially as they have not won a major trophy since 1996.
Chelsea's remaining Premier League fixtures are much more challenging than Villa's The Blues still have to play a West London derby against Fulham before potential banana skins against Everton, Liverpool, Newcastle, Man United and then Nottingham Forest on the final day.
Maresca will also still have the Europa Conference League to worry about. Whilst the Blues will be favorites to win the competition, they will still face long trips across Europe that will contribute to fatigue and therefore, affect Chelsea's Premier League form.
Villa are in better form than Chelsea
Both Villa and Chelsea, played teams in the bottom three of the Premier League last weekend. Emery's side demolished already relegated Southampton 3-0. However, Maresca could only guide his team to a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town. This shows the gulf in quality between Villa and Chelsea right now.
Villa have won their last four Premier League games. They suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace but then responded to this well with wins over Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and then the Saints.
As for Chelsea, their form has been mixed recently, with two wins, two draws and one defeat in their last five league games. The Blues beat Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City but lost to Arsenal. They also could only draw with Brentford and Ipswich.
Chelsea have spent prodigally on players since Todd Boehly's BlueCo consortium took over the club from Roman Abramovich. However, Villa's recruitment has been much more shrewd, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are two mid-season loan signings that will be key to Emery for the remaining games of the campaign.