Aston Villa FC
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC
Chelsea now in pole position for a 3rd place finish and face mid-table Aston Villa
Chelsea to win 2-1
Chelsea bounced back from defeat in the FA Cup final in the best possible way by beating Leicester, and moving ahead of them in the table by doing so.
That final defeat aside, Chelsea have been brilliant under Thomas Tuchel since he was appointed back in January, rising to a likely top four finish from seemingly an improbable position.
Should they win their final game at Villa, the Blues will guarantee themselves a top three finish for the campaign, ahead of Liverpool and Leicester, both of whom have spent large parts of the season above them. If they don’t win, then they rely on results elsewhere going in their favour.
Aston Villa secured a morale boosting win over Spurs in their previous game, adding a small consolation to what has been a disappointing second half of the season for them.
To finish in 11th would still represent a large improvement over last season’s position of 17th and give them a platform to build on for next year.
Form Guide (all comps): WLDLW
Original predicted finish: 11th
Likely finish: 11th
Reasons to be cheerful:
Win over Spurs will give them confidence boost
Having Grealish back has improved them going forward
Reasons to be fearful:
Beaten Chelsea twice in their last 18 meetings
Their opponents will be desperate to win here
Aston Villa will point to the injury over Jack Grealish, which kept him out for 12 league games, as the reason why they haven’t secured a top half finish this season.
True, in the first half of the campaign, they were flying. They reached 4th place at one stage, with Grealish key to everything good about the side – scoring, assisting, leading.
Of course, a team shouldn’t just be about one man, and to slump so badly without him is surely a reflection on the rest of the squad.
Now that he’s returned, they are starting to look more like their old selves. They were good against Spurs, although they were gifted goals by their opponents in truth. Here, however, Chelsea will be far more determined, going for that top four finish that a win would guarantee for them.
Star Man – Jack Grealish
Despite missing a large part of the season, he’s still Villa’s third top scorer and their leading assist maker.
Form Guide (all comps): WWLLW
Original predicted finish: 4th
Likely finish: 3rd
Reasons to be cheerful:
Bounced back following FA Cup disappointment with huge win over Leicester
Great record over Aston Villa
Reasons to be fearful:
Could they suffer from final day nerves?
Villa will want to spoil the party
Should Chelsea finish in the top four, and it looks very much as though they might, it’d be a great end to the season for Thomas Tuchel, who took over with the club in 8th. Don’t forget, they also have a Champions League final to prepare for.
They need to win here, of course. Should they draw or lose, they will rely on Liverpool or Leicester also dropping points. Goal difference may also come into play, should Chelsea lose here and the other two teams draw.
That said, Chelsea are favourites to win here. They have a great record against Villa over the years, and will be confident of finishing the season on a high. It may be tense, but they should get over the line.
Star Man – Mason Mount
In truth, Chelsea’s goals have been coming from all over the place in recent games, but Mount is always at the heart of their best play.
Chelsea are favourites to win
Could be an even contest with chances at both ends
Can Villa spoil the party?
Aston Villa have the potential to make this very difficult for Chelsea, especially if they can grab the first goal.
We have seen nervy final days in the past, with teams feeling the pressure when a big result is at stake.
Chelsea have the quality to win here, no doubt about it, but they’ll need all their focus in order to do so.
Chelsea to win 2-1
