Chelsea vs Aston Villa Prediction & Betting Tips (27 December)

Winner of the Club World Cup last July, Chelsea will undoubtedly not be able to compete for the title of champion of England this season. Because if they are not ridiculous with their 29 points on the clock, Enzo Maresca's men are still around ten points behind the head of the standings occupied by Arsenal but also 7 behind the 3rd place occupied by... Aston Villa. Hung by Bournemouth 0-0, the Blues then got the better of Everton 2-0 before sharing the points with Newcastle 2-2 last week.

In the meantime, the Londoners have validated their ticket for the last four of the League Cup after their success against Cardiff 1-3. For its part, Aston Villa is the surprise guest in the title race which we thought was summed up in a duel between Arsenal and Manchester City which are respectively 3 and a small point ahead before the start of this 18th day. Untenable for several weeks, Unaï Emery's men have won their last 10 matches in all competitions, like against FC Basel on December 11, 1-2. A success which allows them to occupy 3rd place in the C3 league phase rankings. Since this beautiful European evening, the Villans have been able to continue by dismissing West Ham 2-3 and Manchester United 2-1 during the last 2 days of the Premier League. 

Even if it has a plethoric workforce, this Chelsea team still deplores a few absences like replacement midfielders Lavia and Essugo, the important defender Colwill, the promising winger Estevao and the solid attacker Delap who will all be forced to watch this poster from the stands. On top of that, Ukrainian striker Mudryk continues to serve his doping suspension. Playmaker Palmer (2 goals in PL) is very present and expected to start. Will also be operational wingers Pedro Neto (5 goals and 3 assists in PL) and Garnacho (1 goal and 2 assists in PL) as well as striker Joao Pedro (5 goals and 3 assists in PL) who scored last week against the Magpies. Also watch out for the Argentinian world champion Enzo Fernandez (4 goals) and the very good Reece James (2 goals, 3 assists). The solid central defender Mings is still missing from Aston Villa.

In addition, replacement midfielder Barkley and Starting defender Pau Torres is also on the flank this weekend while young Eliott is doubtful. Finally, Ivorian striker Guessand, who has struggled to be decisive since his arrival from Nice this summer, joined the Elephants to play in the CAN and he will therefore also be absent. Author of 2 doubles in the last 2 days, the English international Rogers (7 goals and 3 assists in PL) was the hero of the matches against West Ham and Manchester United. He should form the attack line with his sidekick Watkins (3 goals in PL) while supersub Buendia (4 goals and 2 assists in PL) and Malen (4 goals in PL) should be ready to make the decision at the end of the match.