Chelsea Vs Aston Villa: Maresca Wants To End Bad Performance In Home Match

Enzo Fernandez, the motorcycle of Chelsea's attack in midfield (photo: x @chelseafc)

JAKARTA Chelsea and Aston Villa will face each other in the Premier League continued match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 1 December. The two teams have just completed their European competition schedule, with Chelsea appearing in Conference League and Aston Villa in the Champions League.

Chelsea are in a positive trend after recording satisfactory results throughout November. They closed the moon with a 2-0 win over Bundesliga club Heidenheim in the Conference League on Thursday night. Goals from Christopher Nkunku and Mykhaylo Mudryk confirmed the Blues' move to the playoffs in February.

In the Premier League, Enzo Maresca's side managed to beat Leicester City 1-0 last week, making them unbeaten in the last two games in domestic competitions. Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer, who have scored seven goals each this season, are the mainstays of Chelsea's attack line.

However, Chelsea's performance at home is still a concern. Of the 22 points they have collected this season, only nine have been achieved at Stamford Bridge. Maresca is targeting to improve performance in home games to cut the gap by nine points from leaders of Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa is still struggling to stop the bad result. They have never won in the last seven games in all competitions. After a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace last week, Unai Emery's side were again held to a 1-1 draw by Juventus in the Champions League, where Morgan Rogers' goal was ruled out for a foul.

However, Villa have a positive record at Stamford Bridge. In their last three trips, Villa won two wins and one draw. This could be an additional motivation forjang Watkins and his friends to get up.

Chelsea are certain to lose their mainstay defender, Reece James. The Briton had to pull out after a new hamstring injury last week. The Blues medical team is now implementing a daily approach to monitor James' recovery in order to return to maximum fitness.

Despite losing Reece James, Chelsea got good news with the return of some important players. right-back Malo Gusto has returned to training with the team after being absent against Leicester City last weekend due to illness.

Pedro Neto, who suffered a minor injury while defending Portugal at the international break, has also returned to full training. The winger is ready to appear in this important match.

Coach Enzo Maresca will also field a number of core players who are rested during a 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League. Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Nicolas Jackson are expected to enter the starting XI match this Sunday afternoon.

After Filip Jorgensen's brilliant performance against Heidenheim, the main goalkeeper position will still be filled by Robert Sanchez for the match against Aston Villa.

Marc Cucurella is confirmed to be back in the left-back position, while the centre-back duo is likely to be filled by Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile, replacing the rotational formation used at Voith-Arena in the previous match.

Aston Villa is likely to field Ezri Konsa who returns to the first team after only being a reserve against Juventus. Jhon Duran also has the opportunity to appear as a starter to replaceUS Watkins.

Chelsea have a positive momentum for a second straight win in the Premier League, but Aston Villa, who has a good record at Stamford Bridge, is ready to put up a fierce fight. This match is predicted to take place with a narrow chance of victory for the home team.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1):Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, McGinn, Rogers; Watkins