Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Match preview, lineups, quotes, form, injuries and how to watch

When and where to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Aston Villa vs Chelsea kicks off at 2pm on Sunday 16 October.

You can catch all the action from Villa Park on NOW via BT TV.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea match preview

It’s been an underwhelming season so far for Aston Villa, but after a really poor start at least the Villans aren’t losing. They have however drawn their previous two encounters against Leeds and Nottingham Forest - fixtures the Villa faithful would've expected to win. 

Gerrard has been urging his players to be more incisive at the top end of the pitch, so he'll be looking to the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey to make things happen against Chelsea.

The Blues come into this match with manager Graham Potter looking for his third Premier League win in a row as Chelsea boss. Success in Europe in midweek will give his side confidence, but expect some changes to the team that triumphed at the San Siro.

Players are keen to show the new boss what they can offer. Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher will be among those eager to impress on Sunday.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea predicted lineups

Aston Villa: (4-3-3) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, J Ramsey, Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho.

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Arrizabalaga; James, Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Gallagher, Mount, Sterling, Aubameyang.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Injuries and suspensions

Leon Bailey could return to the Villa squad to face Chelsea. He’s been out with a muscle injury and would provide Steven Gerrard with another much-needed attacking option.

For Chelsea, Reece James came off injured during the Blues’ midweek game against AC Milan, but could return to the team on Sunday.

Hakim Ziyech is also back after not travelling to Italy due to illness. Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante remain out injured. 

Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Form guide

Aston Villa haven’t lost a game since the end of August when they suffered defeat against Arsenal. Still, they’ll be disappointed that they only managed a draw last time out against Nottingham Forest.

After the draw at the City Ground, Gerrard bemoaned the lack of ‘headline writers’ within his ranks. Villa lacked any real potency up front and failed to test Forest keeper Dean Henderson too often.

After a poor start to the season which has seen Steven Gerrard come under pressure to get results, Villa have become more difficult to break down. Against Chelsea, Gerrard will be looking for his players to show more creativity in front of goal.

Chelsea have been in fine form since Graham Potter took over last month. The Blues have beaten both Crystal Palace and Wolves in the Premier League and sit fourth in the table.

The new manager has lifted the players and the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz have all benefitted from his fresh approach.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Last time they met

These two teams last met on Boxing Day 2021, when Chelsea won 3-1 at Villa Park. Jorginho tucked home two penalties conceded by Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa and Romelu Lukaku found the net too. Villa replied with a Reece James own goal. 

He said what?!

Speaking about his team’s attacking quality, Gerrard said:

“The important thing is how I can get this team to be more potent, find that quality, and we challenge our forwards to give this team more threat. Application and a lot of our performances are ok up to a certain point.

“You look around our changing room and see Coutinho, Buendia, Ings, Bailey will be back quick, I need these players to step up and be headline writers for us.”

Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Players to watch

With Villa manager Steven Gerrard bemoaning his sides attacking intent, he’ll be looking for Villa’s key forwards to carve open opportunities and make things happen against Chelsea.

There's been some fierce criticism over the inclusion of Philippe Coutinho in the side, with his critics saying he goes missing. This would be the perfect opportunity for the Brazilian to put his stamp on a game and show the kind of form that made him such hot property at Liverpool.

Graham Potter is still figuring out his best side while also having to juggle a squad that can compete in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Question marks remain as to whether Aubameyang starts most games, with Potter sometimes preferring Havertz and even giving Armando Broja some time to shine against Wolves.

But with his goal against Crystal Palace the previous week and his showing in the Champions League, there are glimpses that the old Aubameyang is back. 

Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Key stats

• Often lose against the Blue: Aston Villa have won just one of their last 10 Premier League games against Chelsea (D1 L8).
  
  
• The Stevie G effect: Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games (W1 D3), their longest spell under Steven Gerrard.
  
  
• Goal getters: Chelsea have had more different goalscorers than any other side in the Premier League this season (10).
  
  
• Can't find the net: Only Wolves (3) have scored fewer Premier League goals than Aston Villa (7) this season. Villa are averaging 10.9 shots per match in the competition this term; since Opta have full shot data available in the Premier League (from 2003-04), only in 2015-16 (10.0) have they averaged fewer shots per game over a season in the division, a campaign which saw them finish bottom.