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Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Premier League live scores, blog

15th March, 2014
Squads

Aston Villa

Chelsea
I like Lamp.
Roar Guru
15th March, 2014
77

Chelsea travel to Birmingham to face Aston Villa, who are only six points clear of relegation and engaged in a battle of survival.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have a wonderful opportunity to put daylight between themselves and their main title rivals as the English Premier League approaches its crescendo.

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With only one point from four games in February, the Villans began March with a relieving 4-1 home win against Norwich City on March 1.

Otherwise, it has been a poor season at Villa Park, with only 14 points gained at home all season.

Equally, Paul Lambert’s men have beaten Arsenal and Manchester City, as well as drawn against Liverpool this season, so no doubting their ability to fashion a result from this game.

Central to their hopes is Christian Benteke. With nine goals out of a total of 31 scored by the club (next best is Leandro Bacuna with five), the Belgian’s physicality and ability to outmuscle the Chelsea defence is critical to the home side’s chances in staging an upset.

Any chance of three points for Villa means breaking the meanest defence in the league.

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Set up in typical Jose Mourinho style, Chelsea have only conceded 22 goals in a season that has seen the rejuvenation of John Terry as their defensive linchpin.

Since Christmas, the Blues have racked up 32 out of a possible 36 league points, more than their opponents have amassed all season.

But the last time the leaders dropped points was on their last visit to the Midlands in a 1-1 draw last month at West Bromwich Albion.

All this despite having no recognised frontline striker. With Fernando Torres expected to be missing for a few more weeks, Mourinho will likely rely on Samuel Eto’o to lead the line.

However, Chelsea’s real dangerman has been their own Belgian Eden Hazard, who has notched 13 goals and five assists this season. He will be ably supported by the recently firing Andre Schurrle.

Expect Chelsea to show enough firepower to leave Villa Park with three points and place further pressure on their rivals.

Last Five Matches
Aston Villa
4-1 Win v Norwich City (H) (EPL)
0-1 Loss v Newcastle United (A) (EPL)
0-0 Draw v Cardiff City (A) (EPL)
0-2 Loss v West Ham (H) (EPL)
1-2 Loss v Everton (A) (EPL)

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Chelsea
4-0 Win v Tottenham Hotspur (H) (EPL)
3-1 Win v Fulham (A) (EPL)
1-1 Draw v Galatasaray (A) (UCL)
1-0 Win v Everton (H) (EPL)
0-2 Loss v Manchester City (A) (FAC)

Expected lineups
Aston Villa (4-3-3)
1. Brad Guzan

7. Leandro Bacuna
4. Ron Vlaar ©
6. Ciaran Clark
2. Nathan Baker

15. Ashley Westwood
16. Fabian Delph
8. Karim El Ahmadi

11. Gabriel Agbonlahor
10. Andreas Weimann
20. Christian Benteke

Chelsea (4-3-3)
1. Petr Cech

2. Branislav Ivanovic
26. John Terry ©
24. Gary Cahill
28. César Azpilicueta

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7. Ramires
8. Frank Lampard
21. Nemanja Matic

14. Andre Schürrle
29. Samuel Eto’o
17. Eden Hazard

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