The Graham Potter revolution continued to gather pace in midweek when Chelsea turned over AC Milan in Italy and the Blues should have a kick in their step when they visit Aston Villa today. The Villains have won only one of their last seven assignments and another poor result today would heap more pressure on under-fire boss, Steven Gerrard.
We’ve put together a stats pack for today’s Premier League fixture at Villa Park below, which is packed full of key info on shots, assists, fouls, corners, cards and more from the sides’ Premier League campaigns to date. Hopefully, you’ll be able to transform our research into some winning bet builders later on.
Predicted Lineups
Boubacar Kamara, Lucas Digne, Ludwig Augustinsson and Diego Carlos are all still absent for Aston Villa, though Leon Bailly should return from a slight muscle complaint to make the matchday squad.
Ashley Young scored a cracking goal at Nottingham Forest on Monday and the versatile veteran should keep his place against Chelsea.
Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante are both listed as injured for Chelsea. Hakim Ziyech missed the trip to Milan in midweek, though he should recover from an illness in time for selection.
Reece James came off against Milan on Tuesday and he has been subsequently ruled out for eight weeks with a knee injury.
Team Stats
Aston Villa have made a rotten start to the new Premier League campaign and the Villains’ limp displays in the final third have been at the heart of their problems.
Only Wolves have scored fewer goals so far, while their shots for (10.78) and shot on target for (3.11) figures per 90 minutes are both among the lowest in the division. Villa’s games have also featured plenty of cards since the summer (2.56 for/2.00 against p/90) and only four clubs have collected more overall.
Chelsea’s Premier League stats under Thomas Tuchel were modest, to say the least, though the Blues’ output in a number of metrics is improving quickly under Graham Potter.
Chelsea racked up 33 attempts and conceded just 15 at the other end in Potter’s first two Premier League fixtures combined. The Blues did collect five cards in the same matches, however, and they picked up five more in their first two Champions League assignments under the former Brighton boss.
Player Shots and Shots on Target
When it comes to accuracy, Ollie Watkins (1.09 SOT p/90) continues to be the Villains’ best performer in the final third, though Danny Ings (2.76 shots (p/90) and Philippe Coutinho (2.50 shots p/90) are the kings of quantity, even if their efforts are often of low quality.
Ings managed to muster three shots when Villa played Chelsea in last season’s corresponding fixture, though the out-of-form forward might have to settle for a place on the bench this time around.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2.43 shots p/90) will hope to make his second Premier League start for Chelsea today after the ex-Arsenal star made quite an impression on his debut against Crystal Palace.
Christian Pulisic was brought in from the cold by Graham Potter for just his second Premier League start of the season against Wolves last time out and the American winger repaid his manager’s faith with four shots and a goal. Kai Havertz (2.15 shots p90) also notched four attempts against Wanderers.
Player Goals and Assists
Ashley Young became the seventh different Aston Villa player to score this season when he found the net against Nottingham Forest last week, though no Villain has registered more than once so far.
Indeed, Villa have scored more than once in a game on just one occasion this season and only Ollie Watkins (2), Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailly have manufactured assists.
Raheem Sterling has scored three times in the Premier League this season, though the 27-year-old hasn’t scored for Graham Potter since netting against Salzburg in the new manager’s first game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has bagged three goals under Potter so far (1 EPL, 2 UCL) while Armando Broja, Christian Pulisic, Conor Gallagher, Reece James and Jorginho have also broken their ducks for the campaign since Potter’s arrival.
Aston Villa Cards
Aston Villa have plenty of bite in midfield and combative pair John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey should be considered prime candidates to pick up a card again today. Both players were cautioned against Forest last week, with Ramsey collecting his fourth and McGinn his third card of the campaign. Both McGinn and Ramsey were booked when Villa played Chelsea last September.
Matty Cash avoided a card against his old club, though the defender has been committing 1.43 fouls per 90 and he has already pocketed two cards. Cash should be given a thorough test down the Villa right flank today.
Deep-lying playmaker Jorginho (fouled 2.81 times p/90) sets the tempo for Chelsea and the Italian tends to draw quite a few fouls from opposing midfielders. Regular card collector Jacob Ramsey will be trying to disrupt his passing patterns today.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (fouled 2.07 p/90) should be Jorginho’s partner in midfield today the 26-year-old’s skirmishes with John McGinn should be of interest to referee Rob Jones and card bettors today.
Further forward, Raheem Sterling (fouled 1.3 times p/90) will enjoy running at Matty Cash today and the latter could be drawn into making a desperate lunge or two when the Chelsea winger bursts clear.
Match-Ups to watch
Jacob Ramsey vs Jorginho
John McGinn vs Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Matty Cash vs Raheem Sterling
Chelsea Cards
Kai Havertz (2.15 fouls p90) offers a robust presence in attack and the German forward has already knocked a few defenders about this term. The attacker ranks joint-top at Chelsea for Premier League cards collected alongside Conor Gallagher and Kalidou Koulibaly (3).
Marc Cucurella has been booked twice in just six Premier League starts for Chelsea since joining from Brighton and the Spaniard is worth keeping an eye on again today.
Emiliano Buendia has been fouled 1.86 times per 90 for Villa this season and the technically talented Argentinean could test Marc Cucurella with his clever movement today.
Centre-half Ezri Konsa (fouled 2.13 times p/90) is often a magnet for fouls from frustrated forwards. Step forward Kai Havertz, who has a habit of leaving his foot in on centre-backs.
Ollie Watkins (fouled 1.57 times p/90) can trouble defenders with his well-timed runs and today, the 26-year-old comes up against Kalidou Koulibaly. The Chelsea defender can often look awkward against players with pace.
Match-Ups to watch
Marc Cucurella vs Emiliano Buendia
Kai Havertz vs Ezri Konsa
Kalidou Koulibaly vs Ollie Watkins
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Given Chelsea’s new found form under Graham Potter, this could be a long afternoon for Gerrard’s Villa side. They’ll scrap away in this one, and they’re could well be plenty of cards.
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