Chelsea welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge on Saturday as the clubs' managers look to hit back after some early trouble in the Premier League.
The Blues go into the game off the back of a shock 3-1 home defeat to Southampton, while Tim Sherwood's charges have now lost four in a row.
Chelsea
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Jose Mourinho comes into this fixture looking to protect his honour of never being beaten in two consecutive home matches during his managerial career in the Premier League.
The current champions have not had this bad a start for 37 years, when they previously picked up five points from their first eight games during the 1978-79 season before finishing bottom of Division One.
Many of Chelsea's problems have come at the back, and Mourinho might just look to try some different personnel out in different positions on Saturday.
Right-back Branislav Ivanovic has come in for some criticism this term, but his injury could see Mourinho provide a chance for usual centre-back Kurt Zouma to show his abilities in the full-back position.
Mourinho has been given the backing of the club's board despite claiming just eight points from eight games, and he will be looking to kick-start a winning run to help stave off some undeniably mounting pressure.
The prospect of Villa possibly presents the Chelsea boss with his most manageable of visits to Stamford Bridge in the early part of the season, and the Blues will be hopeful of notching only their second home win from the five chances presented come the end of the weekend.
Mourinho will be looking to the club's home win over Arsenal as a solid template to work from given that they appeared both defensively and offensively adroit during that encounter, although Chelsea fans will arguably be a tad apprehensive given that they have conceded five goals in the two games since that win last month.
Recent form: WLLWDL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWDLL
Aston Villa
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Sherwood comes into this clash with concerns beginning to mount around Villa Park, as the club currently find themselves in 18th position on four points.
The Villans have now lost four consecutive games in the Premier League and their lacklustre display at home to Stoke City last time out provided very few signs of a turnaround on the horizon.
Villa fans might ignore the 3-2 loss away at Anfield, but their three other defeats have come in games that Sherwood's charges should have been challenging in, although those fixtures culminated in losses to Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke.
What might give Sherwood a slight glimmer of hope is that his side have now bagged at least one goal in nine consecutive away matches, which is the longest current run in the English top flight.
Heading to Stamford Bridge, however, presents the club with a rather big challenge when looking at the sides' competitive history. As it stands, Villa have not kept a league clean sheet at Stamford Bridge since March 1998 and have conceded 30 times in their last eight matches at the ground.
Sherwood's concerns have not been concentrated on a particular part of the pitch either, and the fact that they have lost four domestic fixtures in a row by a one-goal margin suggests that there is still plenty of work to be done going forward as well as at the back.
Recent form: LDLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): DLLWLL
Team News
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Chelsea will be delighted that they now have frontman Diego Costa back following his three-game ban, and he should return up top to lead the Blues' attack.
Ivanovic is to miss out through injury, meaning that Baba Rahman and Zouma will be fighting for a spot at right-back.
Nemanja Matic's place is still potentially under threat, giving Ruben Loftus-Cheek the chance to push for a starting place.
Villa fans will be hoping to see the trio of Adama Traore, Gabby Agbonlahor and Tiago Ilori challenge for starts following the international break, while Jores Okore, Ciaran Clark and Gary Gardner are also hoping to recover from injuries.
The promising Jack Grealish and midfielder Carles Gil both started on the bench during the defeat to Stoke, and Sherwood could look to recall them for Saturday's away trip.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Zouma; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Willian, Pedro; Costa
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Amavi, Lescott, Richards, Hutton; Gueye, Westwood, Veretout; Grealish, Gestede, Ayew
Head To Head
Chelsea's form has been remarkable when looking at the sides' head-to-head history. The Blues have beaten Villa in five of their last six meetings.
Mourinho's men were able to do the double over Villa last season, claiming a 3-0 home win and a 2-1 away victory at Villa Park later in the campaign.
We say: Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa
Both sides find themselves in the midst of some early-season trouble, but Chelsea potentially have the better tools to get back on track with a victory on Saturday. Villa have a torrid record at the Bridge, but they have managed to score in an impressive run of travelling fixtures. Mourinho will be buoyed by the return of Costa and will be hoping that his side can seal a comfortable victory after the international break, which may just have helped the champions to forget about some of the pressure placed on their shoulders in the league.
Christopher Dodd
