Villa Park — Birmingham
Referee: L. Mason
Team News
Aston Villa
Aston Villa's threadbare squad is being somewhat exposed of late and
with Hutton a major a doubt and captain Petrov suffering with a fever,
McLeish may have to tamper with his formation and bring in another
couple of youngsters.
With N'Zogbia also sidelined, the hosts could field as many as 5 former
academy graduates, with the manager hinting that both Eric Lichaj
(right-back) and Andreas Weimann (striker) could start.
The tactic of playing Emile Heskey against the bigger clubs again failed
to pay off at Arsenal, so Barry Bannan will hope to line-up on the
opposite flank to Marc Albrighton.
probable lineups : Given, Warnock, Cuellar, Collins, Lichaj, Bannan, Ireland, Herd, Albrighton, Weimann, Agbonlahor. (4-4-2).
| Mar 24, 2012 | Arsenal 3 - Aston Villa 0 | EPL |
| Mar 10, 2012 | Aston Villa 1 - Fulham 0 | EPL |
| Mar 3, 2012 | Blackburn 1 - Aston Villa 1 | EPL |
| Feb 25, 2012 | Wigan Athletic 0 - Aston Villa 0 | EPL |
| Feb 12, 2012 | Aston Villa 0 - Manchester City FC 1 | EPL |
Chelsea
Roberto Di Matteo has emphasised the fact that he will be using his
squad to the full in the run-in, with a number of changes paying off in
an impressive 1-0 away win in Benfica.
Torres and Kalou combined to net the match-winner and will hope to keep
their places in the side ahead of Drogba and Sturridge respectively.
With Ivanovic the only potential absentee with a thigh injury as it
stands, Bosingwa may well replace Ferreira at right-back, while Luiz
should keep his place ahead of Gary Cahill after an excellent
performance at his former club.
probable lineups : Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Kalou, Ramires, Mata, Torres. (4-2-3-1).
| Mar 27, 2012 | Benfica 0 - Chelsea FC 1 | UCL |
| Mar 24, 2012 | Chelsea FC 0 - Tottenham 0 | EPL |
| Mar 21, 2012 | Manchester City FC 2 - Chelsea FC 1 | EPL |
| Mar 18, 2012 | Chelsea FC 5 - Leicester 2 | FA |
| Mar 14, 2012 | Chelsea FC 4 - SSC Napoli 1 | UCL |
Head to Head
Match Facts
Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 7 away matches against Aston Villa in all competitions.: Chelsea win or draw.
Chelsea have lost their last 3 away matches in Premier League.
| England - Premier League (EPL) | Dec 31, 2011 | Chelsea FC 1 - Aston Villa 3 | |
| Club Friendlies (FR) | Jul 30, 2011 | Aston Villa 0 - Chelsea FC 2 | |
| England - Premier League (EPL) | Jan 2, 2011 | Chelsea FC 3 - Aston Villa 3 | |
| England - Premier League (EPL) | Oct 16, 2010 | Aston Villa 0 - Chelsea FC 0 | |
| England - FA Cup (FA) | Apr 10, 2010 | Aston Villa 0 - Chelsea FC 3 |
Prediction
These two sides are in very different conditions going into this game
with Villa looking increasingly depleted, and tired in the 3-0 defeat at
Arsenal. Chelsea, on the other hand, could have a clean bill of health
ahead of the trip to Villa Park and will be clear favourites to win.
The Blues will be keen to exact revenge on the hosts after Villa sprung a
surprise to pick up a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season,
with Chelsea keeping 4 clean sheets in their last 5 trips to Villa.
The visitors should return to winning ways in the league against a Villa
side who looked like they had given up for the season last time out,
though their safety in the top-flight is not yet secure.
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Chelsea
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