Unbeaten Chelsea welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge in the final Premier League game for Saturday, September 11.
Aston Villa will be fearful of Chelsea and their new signing Romelu Lukaku, while also trying to find their spark after losing talisman Jack Grealish’s to Man City.
Find out who we like in our Chelsea vs. Aston Villa tips and predictions.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa game info
• Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England
• Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
• Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC, DAZN
Chelsea vs Aston Villa betting tips
- Chelsea (-350)
- Douglas Luiz to be booked (+187)
Read on for complete analysis
Chelsea vs Aston Villa match odds
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Chelsea vs Aston Villa betting preview
Weather
London will be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit but cloudy on Saturday where the game kicks off late afternoon local time. We’re not expecting rain and there’ll only be mild wind.
Injuries
Chelsea: Romelu Lukaku (Questionable), N’Golo Kante (Doubtful), Reece James (Out), Thiago Silva (Out).
Aston Villa: Leon Bailey (Doubtful), Bertrand Traore (Questionable), Morgan Sanson (Questionable), Trezeguet (Out), Keinan Davis (Out).
Chelsea vs Aston Villa predictions
Side pick
It’s not a sexy pick but you have to back Chelsea this Saturday. They face an Aston Villa side who have looked out of sorts since the departure of Grealish to Manchester City. They’ve only accumulated four points so far, which is disappointing given the quality of the opponents that they’ve faced. Before Grealish’s departure, you’d have expected them to do better against Newcastle and two promoted sides in Watford and Brentford.
The problem with losing a talent like Grealish isn’t just that they’ve lost the quality that he possessed, but also that it takes time for the replacements to settle in. Leon Bailey arrived from Leverkusen and is doubtful for this game, although he should play and his speed and guile will be useful. The man that replaced Grealish, and is the closest in his playing style, is Emiliano Buendia, who will be missing this game for international duty in South America.
Given the standard of opponents that Aston Villa have played so far, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea are going to be a huge step up. They are only missing Reece James and Thiago Silva, although N’Golo Kante is doubtful.
Lukaku scored on his second Chelsea debut, as he so often does, and it’s clear that his time at Inter Milan under Antonio Conte has helped him develop as a player. His rare blend of genuine power and great instinctive movement is going to be incredibly hard for Villa to shut down — especially with the likes of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount behind him. The movement and intelligence that Chelsea offer is a huge threat to anybody, and Villa will struggle with the challenges that they create.
I’d love for Villa to cause an upset here and I believe it would be possible if they still had Grealish, but I think it’s too soon to expect all the new parts of this exciting Aston Villa side to click. They’ll have a good second half of the season, but I’m expecting some problems for now. Back Chelsea here, even at odds of just -350.
PICK: Chelsea (-350)
Booking pick
As we discussed above, the triangles and movement of Chelsea’s forward three are going to cause big problems for Aston Villa. With the likes of Mount and Havertz running riot, with Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic behind them, it feels likely that we could see Villa’s midfield overrun, especially if Dean Smith chooses to play both Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings up front.
With a dominant midfield, packed full of such quality, then we need to look at the Aston Villa midfield when it comes to picking up cards. The two likely midfield starters for Villa will be Douglas Luiz (+187) and John McGinn (+240) and I believe that it’s the Brazilian who offers us the highest chance of a booking.
Luiz has been brilliant since he joined Villa. He’s not a stylish player, nor an overly exciting one, but he’s quietly grown into one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. His positioning is excellent and helps him break down opposition attacks, and he’s capable of setting Villa free with his passing, too. He has one weakness, though, and that’s his discipline.
Last season he picked up nine cards in just 33 Premier League games and has already managed one in two games this season. Against this Chelsea midfield, he’s a booking waiting to happen and odds of +187 offer us a great return if and when he does get booked.
PICK: Douglas Luiz to be booked (+187)
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