There are 10 matches to go in our league season. After Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal, Chelsea dropped to sixth place on 45 points, three points behind Liverpool in fifth. Aston Villa are fourth with 51 points, level with Manchester United, who have a better goal difference.

Head-to-head

Chelsea have won six of our past nine matches in all competitions at Villa Park (one draw, two defeats).

Aston Villa have won four of their six Premier League games against Chelsea under Unai Emery (one draw, one defeat). Having won their last two league matches against Chelsea, Aston Villa are looking for three league wins in a row against the Blues for the first time since a run of four between 1978 and 1984.

Villa won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in December, thanks to a second-half brace from Ollie Watkins, after Joao Pedro had given Chelsea the lead in the 37th minute.

Aston Villa are looking to achieve a league double against Chelsea for the first time since the 1989/90 campaign in Division One.

The Blues have not lost back-to-back away league games at Villa Park since suffering defeats there in 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Head-to-head (all competitions)

Played 168
Won 68
Drawn 38
Lost 62

Last five meetings at Villa Park

26 December 2021 Premier League W 3-1 Jorginho 2 (2 pens), Lukaku
16 October 2022 Premier League W 2-0 Mount 2
7 February 2024 FA Cup W 3-1 Gallagher, Jackson, Fernandez
27 April 2024 Premier League D 2-2 Madueke, Gallagher
22 February 2025 Premier League L 2-1 Fernandez

Biggest win for each team:

Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa 2012/13 Premier League
Aston Villa 7-1 Chelsea 1951/52 Division One
Chelsea's biggest win at Villa Park was 6-2 in 1966/67 in Division One

Chelsea stats

No team has scored in more different Premier League games than Chelsea this season (26), with the Blues’ only two blanks coming in goalless draws against Crystal Palace in August and Bournemouth in December. Chelsea have scored the most Premier League goals on the road this season (26).

Chelsea have lost each of our two Premier League games on a Wednesday so far this season, suffering defeats at Leeds United (3-1) and Fulham (2-1).

Only Arsenal (24) have scored more set-piece goals in the Premier League this season than Chelsea (20).

Although Chelsea have dropped 19 points from winning positions this season, only two have come away from home.

Only Erling Haaland (22), Igor Thiago (18) and Antoine Semenyo (14) have scored more Premier League goals this season than Joao Pedro’s 11.

Premier League scorers
Joao Pedro 11, Fernandez 8 (2 pens), Palmer 8 (5 pens), Neto 5, Caicedo 3, Chalobah 3, Gusto 2, Estevao 2, James 2, Acheampong 1, Cucurella 1, Delap 1, Garnacho 1, own goal 1

Premier League assists
James 4, Joao Pedro 4, Neto 4, Cucurella 3, Garnacho 3, Estevao 2, Fernandez 2, Gittens 2, Gusto 2, Caicedo 1, Fofana 1, Guiu 1, Palmer 1, Sanchez 1

Most Premier League minutes played
Chalobah 2,372, Sanchez 2,345, Fernandez 2,324, Neto 2,149, Joao Pedro 2,070, Caicedo 1,956, Cucurella 1,889, James 1,716, Gusto 1,579, Palmer 1,161, Fofana 1,026

Milestones

Our next Premier League goal will be our 50th in the competition this season.

The next time Enzo Fernandez captains the side it will be the 50th time he has worn the armband from the start since he joined the club in 2023.

Aston Villa stats

This season’s Premier League stats

Most minutes played: Rogers 1,518, Cash 1,505, Konsa 1,416
Most goals: Rogers 8, Watkins 8, Buendia 5, Cash 3, McGinn 3
Most assists: Rogers 5, Tielemans 4, Digne 4, Kamara 3
Most duels won: Rogers 120, Kamara 116, Cash 109, Onana 97
Clean sheets: Martinez 6, Bizot 1
Most fouls conceded: Rogers 35, Cash 34, Buendia 33, Watkins 25, McGinn 23
Most yellow cards: Cash 6, Bogarde 5, Buendia 5, Kamara 5, Rogers 5
Red cards: Konsa 1

Villa have the fourth-best home Premier League record this season, behind Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United, with 29 points from 14 matches. Their three defeats at Villa Park have come against Brentford, Everton and Crystal Palace, while Leeds United and Newcastle United have both secured draws.

Eight of the 13 points that Aston Villa have dropped at home this term have come in 2026. The other five were in August.

There have been 11 goals scored in Aston Villa’s last eight Premier League games (five for, six against), an average of 1.37 per game. In their previous six games, more than triple the number of goals were scored in Villa’s games (23 – 3.8 per game).

Since the start of last season, Aston Villa have not lost any of their seven Premier League games played on a Wednesday (five wins, two draws).

Three of Aston Villa’s past four Premier League goals have been scored in the last five minutes of normal time (88th, 86th and 88th). The Villans have scored 63.2 per cent of their goals in the second half of games (24/38).

Villa have the second-oldest average starting XI in the Premier League this season (28 years, 89 days). Chelsea have the youngest (24 years, 202 days).

Aston Villa have gained 19 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other club, although only four have come at Villa Park.

Following a sequence of eight consecutive Premier League victories this season, from 9 November to 27 December, Aston Villa have secured 12 points out of a possible 30 in their subsequent 10 fixtures. They have won four points from their last four home games.

Unai Emery’s management record vs Chelsea

Won: 5
Drawn: 4
Lost: 5

Last five Aston Villa results

Bournemouth (a) D 1-1
Brighton & Hove Albion (h) W 1-0
Newcastle United (FA Cup, h) L 3-1
Leeds United (h) D 1-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) L 2-0

Last Premier League line-up

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Aston Villa
Friday 27 February
Team (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa (c), Torres, Digne (Maatsen 70); Onana, Luiz (Barkley 60); Sancho (Bailey 60), Rogers, Buendia (Abraham 70); Watkins (Alysson 86)
Booked: Buendia 54, Bailey 75, Cash 90+2

Discipline

Pedro Neto is suspended (one game) following his red card against Arsenal. Moises Caicedo needs to avoid two more yellows in our next four Premier League games to avoid a two-match suspension.

Players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including our 32nd fixture will serve a two-match suspension in the competition.

Chelsea Premier League yellow cards
Caicedo 8, Fernandez 7, Cucurella 5, Hato 4, James 4, Palmer 4, Sanchez 4, Santos 4, Chalobah 3, Estevao 3, Joao Pedro 3, Badiashile 2, Delap 2, Fofana 2, Gusto 2, Neto 2, Tosin 2, Acheampong 1, Garnacho 1, Guiu 1

Match officials

Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistants: Neil Davies, Steve Meredith
Fourth official: Sam Barrott
VAR: James Bell
Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes

Jarred Gillett is officiating his third Chelsea match this season, having previously refereed our wins at Tottenham Hotspur in November and Wolves last month.