Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, England Premier League Soccer Match Day 8, Villa Park Birmingham, England 12:30 PM EST Saturday October 16, 2010
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Chelsea 1.75 / Aston Villa 5.00 / Draw 3.60
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Chelsea -153 / Aston Villa +400 / Draw +260
This Sunday in an England Premier League clash Aston Villa hosts Chelsea. The Blues have got off to a fast start in the English Premier League (EPL), as they sit in first place in the league with 18 points after 7 matches. Aston Villa sits in 8th place in the league, but their offense has struggled and they have given up more goals than they have scored this season.
The last time these 2 teams played at Villa Park Aston Villa came victorious with a 2-1 win, but since that time Chelsea has beat the Villans twice by scores of 7-1 and 3-0. However, Chelsea has only won one match out of their last 11 at Villa Park.
Chelsea has blown out of the gates this season, as they have been stellar on both sides of the pitch scoring a league high 23 goals and giving up a league low 2 goals. They are coming off a great 2-0 win over Arsenal and even though Aston Villa is not in top form they cannot overlook the Villans to their Champions League match next Tuesday in Russia facing Spartak Moscow.
This season Aston Villa has been solid at home with 2 wins and 1 draw including beating Everton. Chelsea is 2-1 on the road this season and their one loss was a narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The Over pick may be a solid betting choice in this match, as in 5 of Aston Villa’s 7 matches the total has gone Over and Chelsea’s offense has been simply amazing averaging more than 3 goals per match.
Chelsea Recent Form:
10/3/2010 Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0 (EPL)
9/28/2010 Chelsea 2 Marseille 0 (Champions League)
9/25/2010 Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0 (EPL)
9/22/2010 Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 4 (English Carling Cup)
9/19/2010 Chelsea 4 Blackpool 0 (EPL)
Aston Villa Recent Form
10/2/2010 Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 1 (EPL)
9/26/2010 Wolverhampton 1 Aston Villa 2 (EPL)
9/22/2010 Aston Villa 3 Blackburn 1 (English Carling Cup)
9/18/2010 Aston Villa 1 Bolton 1 (EPL)
9/13/2010 Stoke City 2 Aston Villa 1 (EPL)
Chelsea should get back MF Frank Lampard and D Jos Bosingwa, which will only make their club that much stronger. Their main injury concerns are to Yossi Benayoun, who has been out for some time and John Terry, who missed England’s 2012 European Championship qualifying match this week.
F Stewart Downing of Aston Villa is the main goal-scorer for the Villans with 3 goals on the season, but he will be keyed on by the Chelsea defense since no other Aston Villa player has scored more than once.
American G Brad Friedel will have to play a good match for Aston Villa and even though he has 4 clean sheets in his last 10 matches he will not have one in this match with the offense the Blues have.
There are only 3 players that have scored 6 goals in the EPL so far this season and 2 of them play for Chelsea in Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda. Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou has 4 goals, so there is obviously not a lack in firepower for the Blues. Drogba will score in this match, as he is deadly around the box and Aston Villa’ defense has been porous this season.
Chelsea G Petr Cech has been stellar this season and he has 5 clean sheets in 7 EPL matches. He will not have a clean sheet in this match, as Aston Villa is so tough at home, but he will only give up one goal.
With Chelsea pushing forward on offense Aston Villa will have to take advantage of counter-attacks, but they will not get many chances with the quick defenders and midfielders that Chelsea has.
Jason’s Prediction to Win: Chelsea is simply on fire and Aston Villa is not. The Blues have way too much offense for Aston Villa to handle in this match and I think Chelsea will win by a score of 3-1 or 4-1, as I am taking them as well as the Over.