Preview: Aston Villa vs Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

Aston Villa welcome Chelsea to Villa Park on Wednesday evening for their latest instalment of Premier League action.

The Villans suffered a damaging 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous league outing, while the Blues were narrowly pipped by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Match preview

Villa's miserable run of form continued on Friday night as they were beaten 2-0 by close rivals Wolves at Molineux, handing Rob Edwards's men only their second league win of the season.

Having won only once in their previous five Premier League matches and sitting 13 points behind league leaders Arsenal, the Villans' title ambitions are almost certainly over, although there is much still to play for.

Now finding themselves in a scrap for a top-five finish, which is likely to earn UEFA Champions League qualification for next season, the immediate objective for Unai Emery's side is certainly to return to winning ways and avoid falling further down the table.

The perfect way to start would undoubtedly be picking up all three points on Wednesday evening, a result that would be made even sweeter for Villa considering Chelsea are one of three other sides within a six-point cluster in the race for Champions League inclusion.

After winning the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge courtesy of an Ollie Watkins second-half brace in December, the home side will need no convincing that they can overcome Chelsea once again and do the league double over the Blues for the first time in over 30 years.

After winning his first four Premier League games as Chelsea boss, Liam Rosenior has seen his side drop crucial points in the Champions League qualification race in recent weeks.

Chelsea have failed to pick up all three points in any of their previous three matches, drawing at home to Leeds United and Burnley before conceding two goals from set pieces on Sunday evening as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to table-toppers Arsenal.

Having lost three games in his Blues’ reign, all against the Gunners, Rosenior will be happy to see the back of Mikel Arteta’s men until at least May, but the fixture list does not get any more forgiving for the Chelsea boss.

Before the end of the season, Chelsea still have to face the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as facing Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in their European round-of-16 tie.

With Chelsea currently occupying sixth place and only six points behind Wednesday’s opponents, a win is crucial if they want to avoid falling further behind their closest competition.

Aston Vila Premier League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

With Boubacar Kamara sidelined for the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury, Youri Tielemans continues to be a big miss in midfield for Villa, and it looks as though Wednesday's match will come too soon for the Belgian.

The same can be said for Harvey Elliott, who has not made an appearance for the club in over a month, while Andres Garcia's recent setback is likely to keep him out for another six weeks.

It remains to be seen whether Villans captain John McGinn returns to the squad, having been absent for six weeks with a knee injury.

Although they welcome Wesley Fofana back from suspension, Chelsea will be without Pedro Neto for their trip to Villa Park after the Portuguese winger was dismissed against Arsenal on Sunday.

Estevao Willian and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens remain out with thigh injuries, although both are expected to return to action within the next fortnight.

Dario Essugo is also nearing a return from an injury picked up in January, while Marc Cucurella looks set for a late fitness test to determine his availability for Wednesday's match.

While his long-term rehab is progressing well, Levi Colwill has no doubt left a large hole in the Chelsea defence this season and looks set to be out for the remainder of the campaign.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Buendia, Rogers, Sancho; Abraham

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Hato; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro

We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea

Emery's men never fail to deliver a huge performance against the league's best sides at Villa Park, but their recent form is certainly concerning, especially considering the calibre of opponents that they have faced.

The Blues have not been perfect either, although Rosenior's tenure so far has been mostly positive, picking up 14 points from his first seven league matches in charge.

With neither side impressing over the previous few matches we think the points will be shared on Wednesday night, a result that is not ideal for either club.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.