English Premier League Soccer - Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, 6/21/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds

Having drawn with Sheffield United during midweek, 19th-placed Aston Villa remain on own turf to play host to 4th-placed Chelsea, who are unbeaten in their last three Premier League matches. Kick-off - at 11:15 AM ET on Sunday, June 21.

Aston Villa Escape Defeat

The scoring run of 10 consecutive home games finally came to an end for Aston Villa, who failed to find the back of the net on own turf for the first time since September 2019 following a 0-0 draw against Sheffield United at Villa Park on Wednesday. The Villans outshot the visitors 14-5, but it was the South Yorkshire club to actually find the back of the net after the ball from a 42nd-minute free-kick went over the line in the arms of Aston Villa goalie Orjan Nyland, only for the marker not to be given due to a mistake in the Goal Decision System. The stalemate still keeps the Birmingham club in the relegation zone, with Aston Villa sitting 19th with a W7 D5 L17 record.

English playmaker Jack Grealish, a reported a summer transfer target for Manchester United leads the Villans with seven snipes and tops the whole Premier League in fouls drawn, having already won more fouls this season (131) than any other player in a single EPL campaign since Opta started recording such data in 1998-99. Norwegian goalie Nyland, meanwhile, occupies the 28th place in the league with nine saves. He has posted one clean sheet in four previous appearances this season and gives up a goal every 34 minutes on average.

Chelsea Return Unbeaten In Three

After earning a humiliating 3-0 home defeat against German champions Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Last 16 matchups in the Champions League in February, Chelsea bounced back with style, going unbeaten in all three subsequent outings just before the coronavirus pandemic (W2 D1). A 2-2 road draw at Bournemouth was followed up by two home victories against Merseyside clubs, with Chelsea beating Premier League champions-to-be Liverpool 2-0 in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, snatching a 4-0 triumph against Everton on March 8 in the league. With a W14 D6 L9 current record, the Blues sit 4th in England’s top-flight, two points above 5th-placed Manchester United, but with a game in hand.

With 13 Premier League snipes collected thus far this season, 22-year-old English forward Tammy Abraham tops Chelsea’s scoring table. He has, however, gone four league games without a marker to his name after scoring twice in three contests prior. Attacking midfielder Mason Mount is 2nd in scoring with six goals. Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, sits 21st in Premier League’s goalkeeper chart, having turned away 42 shots in 25 starts this year. He has recorded six clean sheets and concedes a goal every 70 minutes on average.

Prediction

Aston Villa looked pretty decent in their first game back from the coronavirus lockdown during midweek. But that will hardly help the West Midlands team against their London opponents, who have lost just four of their 18 travels in all competitions this season (W10 D4 L4). The Blues have also been performing extremely well against the Villans lately, currently riding a five-game winning run in their last five head-to-head meetings, with Aston Villa managing to win just one of their previous 10 encounters in the Premier League (W1 L9), failing to score in four of them.

Best bet:

Chelsea to win to nil (+165)

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