Paul Merson and Chris Sutton completely agree on prediction for Chelsea’s trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea travel to the Midlands on the weekend for an important clash against Aston Villa, and the pre-match predictions are flooding in from pundits.

Chelsea play away at Villa on Saturday evening in a Premier League showdown.

Even though the Blues are in poor form, they should take encouragement from the fact they thrashed Villa 3-0 in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in December.

Both Chelsea and Villa still have plenty to play for this season because the top five could qualify for the Champions League.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
4	Man CityManchester City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44
5	B’mouthBournemouth	25	12	7	6	44	29	15	43
6	ChelseaChelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43
7	NewcastleNewcastle	25	12	5	8	42	33	9	41
8	FulhamFulham	25	10	9	6	38	33	5	39
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	26	10	9	7	37	40	-3	39

Opta predicts Chelsea will finish fifth in the 2024/25 season, but there’s certainly a nervousness within the fanbase because of recent performances and results.

• READ MORE: Chelsea teenager has been ‘holding his own’ during first-team training, he could start vs Aston Villa

Paul Merson and Chris Sutton predict Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Paul Merson, who’s a Chelsea fan, has predicted the Blues to suffer another defeat away from home during their trip to Villa.

Merson told Sportskeeda: “Chelsea are struggling so bad at the moment. I look at them and they are missing Nicolas Jackson quite badly. Without him, I don’t see a real pattern of play at Chelsea. Jackson’s absence is also affecting Cole Palmer, who has to drop deeper now.

“Axel Disasi being ineligible to face his parent club Chelsea is a blow for Aston Villa. But they will have no problem going forward because they have some quality players in their ranks. I expect Villa to find the back of the net no matter what. Chelsea are in desperate need of a result and this is a hard place to go to in such a situation…

“Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea.”

Similarly, Chris Sutton completes agrees when making his pre-match prediction for Saturday’s league fixture.

“Chelsea’s form has been pretty rotten recently and their manager, Enzo Maresca, also needs a strong finish to the season,” Sutton told BBC Sport.

“It doesn’t help that Cole Palmer has lost his mojo, on top of their issues at centre-forward and in goal. Maresca really needs to make the Champions League places but nothing is clicking for his side at the moment…

“I had to think a bit about this one but I am going for my old club Villa to beat my old club Chelsea, and Maresca might start to come under a bit of pressure if this poor run carries on much longer.

“Sutton’s prediction: 2-1.”

Hopefully, Chelsea can manage to pick up a surprise result at Villa Park and earn a much-needed three points. But they’ll have to do so without some key players, including injured attacker Noni Madueke.

Comparing the recent form of Chelsea and Aston Villa

It’s clear that Chelsea and Villa are both underperforming in their own minds right now, which makes for a fascinating meeting between them on Saturday.

Here is a look at their respective form recently in the league:

Even though Chelsea picked up seven points from their last five matches, the performances have been quite alarming. In the most recent match, Chelsea registered zero shots on target against Brighton as they showed a lack of quality as an attacking unit.

As for Villa, they’re without a victory in their previous five league games, although they’ve been super competitive with four draws.