ASTON Villa continue their chase for Champions League football on Saturday night but can Jekyll-and-Hyde Chelsea throw a spanner in the works?
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⏩ Quick betting tips for Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Aston Villa vs Chelsea odds
Here are the latest match odds for Aston Villa vs Chelsea from our favourite football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea betting preview
It’s hard to go against Villa on home soil – they’ve now won 19 of their last 24 Premier League games at Villa Park.
Another here would take them closer to Champions League football next season and surely that carrot will out-weight any thoughts Unai Emery has of Thursday’s impending European semi-final.
Chelsea’s summer spending splurge was supposed to propel them towards that top four but they’ve fallen well short with huge problems remaining in their squad.
The lack of consistency must be massively concerning for boss Mauricio Pochettino, although his side is admittedly the youngest in the top flight.
One of those young stars, Cole Palmer, has been the one shining light this term and ahead of the weekend’s fixtures, he stands as the joint top-scorer with 20 goals.
With Villa’s Ollie Watkins on 19, this is a game which promises goals, although they appear more likely to come from the home side given the 19-point difference between the sides in the table.
They won the reverse fixture 1-0 back in the autumn – Watkins the scorer that day – and can complete the double here.
The sub-markets also provide some good betting opportunities – read on for our full tips for the big TV game.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea key stats
- Villa striker Ollie Watkins is the only Premier League player to hit double figures for goals (19) and assists (12) so far this season. He has scored in his last two league games v Chelsea.
- Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is the league’s joint top scorer. Both he and Man City’s Erling Haaland have 20 goals.
- The Blues have won on seven of their last nine league visits to Villa Park and also won there in the FA Cup earlier this season. However, they lost the reverse league fixture 1-0 in September.
- Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo missed last weekend’s win over Bournemouth with a knock but could return to the squad here.
- Chelsea hope Cole Palmer will recover from illness in time for the game – he trained on Thursday. However, Enzo Fernandez is out after groin surgery, while full-backs Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell were among the absentees during Tuesday’s 5-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea best bets
Find our best bets for Aston Villa vs Chelsea below. All our odds for the bets are from the best football betting sportsbooks, as per our expert reviews. Odds in our football betting tips are also subject to change.
Cole Palmer 3+ shots
Palmer’s shot average of 3.46 per game is remarkable, while it’s up at 3.72 if you look at the per-90-minutes reading.
He’s landed this bet in eight of his last nine starts and while Villa are strong opposition, taking 10/11 about something that has happened so often looks a no-brainer.
⚽ Back Palmer 3+ shots at 10/11 with Spreadex ⚽
Aston Villa to win
Chelsea’s inconsistency continues to frustrate their fans and while they’ve shown they are capable of competing with the elite at times, they were awful against Arsenal on Tuesday and recovering from that 5-0 hammering in the short term may be difficult.
They’ve won just two of their last six – and one of those was the bizarre game against Manchester United in which they trailed 3-2 after 99 minutes.
Meanwhile, the hosts have been strong on their own patch under Unai Emery – they’ve now won 19 of their last 24 league games at Villa Park.
⚽ Back Villa to win at 23/20 with bet365 ⚽
Marc Cucurella 2+ fouls
Cucurella looks in for another tough day in this one given he’s likely to be up against Leon Bailey, who may also have Villa’s most-fouled player – Ezri Konsa – coming up in support down that side.
Cucurella has committed 2+ fouls in four of his eight games since returning to the starting XI and it’s not hard to see him having to resort to illegal play in this one given the match-up.
Essentially, 6/4 looks good value and worth backing.
⚽ Bet on Cucurella to commit 2+ fouls at 6/4 with bet365 ⚽
How to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea
- Location: Villa Park, Aston, Birmingham
- Time: 20:00 BST on Saturday, April 27th
- Where to watch: TNT Sports 1
About the author
Dean Etheridge
Dean is a freelance sports betting writer and website owner who specialises in football and cricket. With many years of experience writing for his own publications and others, Dean can turn his hand to a wide variety of sports, using his extensive knowledge and sense of humour to provide expert content with a totally different perspective. You can follow Dean on LinkedIn (@deanetheridge) and Twitter (@etheridge_dean).
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