Aston Villa will be facing Chelsea in their Premier League fixture at Villa Park on Saturday.
Aston Villa’s chances of continuing in England’s top flight competition seems bleak, the Villains have secured only 16 points this campaign and they are trailing behind the 19th placed Newcastle United by nine points. The club has also parted ways with the Remi Garde during the international break after poor results and his assistant Eric Black will be the caretaker for the Birmingham-based club till they find an apt replacement. Aston Villa has won only thrice in the 30 outings this season and they have been undergoing a losing streak of six games since February. In this predicament, they will be hosting defending champions Chelsea on Saturday. A win is the only option for the home side to boost their survival hopes.
Tap to pause the Vine for a stat ahead of our game at Aston Villa… https://t.co/j5guDJ5Ug6
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 1, 2016
Chelsea had a very disappointing season this year, the London-based club will be finishing the season without any trophies and they also won’t be a part of next year’s UEFA Champions League. But Chelsea’s disastrous start to the season has been stabilized by their interim manager Guus Hiddink, who took charge from Mourinho on December. Chelsea is currently sitting in the tenth position in the table with 41 points and they still have a chance to land the Europa League spot for the next year. The blues will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the league to fifteen when they face to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Team News
Press conference: Acting manager Eric Black’s pre-#AVLCHE media briefing. In full: https://t.co/b9GjqcSRrx #AVFChttps://t.co/YUJVQuCl5z
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 1, 2016
Aston Villa will be without midfielder Carlos Sanchez and forward Gabriel Agbonlahor as both the players are still recovering from their respective injuries. Jordan Amavi, Adama Traore, Jack Grealish and Libor Kozak will also remain on the sidelines.
Chelsea’s Guus Hiddink will still be without his star player Diego Costa as the Spanish international will continue his suspension period and will be unavailable for the Saturday’s clash against Aston Villa. Belgian winger Eden Hazard is still recovering from his hip injury and will not be traveling to Villa on Saturday. Kurt Zouma and Radamel Falcao are still recovering from their injuries and will not be a part of the Saturday’s match.
Guus reports that Pato will be involved in the squad tomorrow and the remaining eight games might be a time for some experimentation. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 1, 2016
Predicted line-up
Aston Villa
Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Lescott, Cissokho; Veretout, Westwood, Gueye; Gil, Gestede, Ayew
Chelsea
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Terry, Rahman; Matic, Fabregas; Pedro, Oscar, Willian; Remy