Ron Vlaar eyes Chelsea revenge

Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar has challenged his young side to avenge last season's 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea this week.

Paul Lambert's men travel to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, fresh from a 3-1 success against Arsenal in their opening Premier League fixtures.

Vlaar believes that Villa are much stronger mentally than the team that were trounced at Stamford Bridge last year, with a revenge mission on his mind.

He told Sky Sports News: "We all know what happened last year, so we want to put that to rest. We learnt a lot and we still have to learn a lot, but mentally we became a stronger team.

"We need everybody, all 25 players because it is a long season. The spirit is there in the group and that is the most important thing. You know when you play in eight days against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, that it could be a little easier.

"But it is the start of the season and nobody really knows a lot about each other, and what will happen from now."

The Blues also claimed maximum points in their first match of the campaign, easing past Hull City 2-0 in Jose Mourinho's first game back at the Bridge.