Villa began 2025/26 with three draws and two defeats in their opening five league games. However, Unai Emery’s side bounced back emphatically. Victory over Manchester United last Sunday made it ten successive victories in all competitions, a run we are seeking to bring to a halt today.

Maresca believes Villa’s change in fortunes owes a great deal to Emery’s ability not to be deflected from what he thinks is the right approach for his team. He didn’t panic and has reaped the rewards.

‘This has to be a key thing for any manager because the moment things don't go the right way and you start to doubt, I think it's the beginning of the end,’ said Maresca.

‘I try to believe in what I believe, no matter if things don't go the right way, because it can be for different reasons.’

Maresca says matching Villa’s levels of consistency and going on long winning runs is ‘one of the next steps’ for his Chelsea side.

We have the chance to end the Villains’ streak at Stamford Bridge today. Maresca will be hoping to get the better of Emery, a coach he came up against during his playing days in Spain and who he has picked up several pointers from over the years.

‘I try to learn and watch as many games as possible. I try to see things. For sure when you see Unai's teams you can learn many things, and he's one of the managers where you can learn things.

‘I've seen him before because I faced Emery when I was a player and he was Almeria manager. It's many, many years ago now, 20 years ago. So Unai is doing a fantastic job everywhere and he deserves it because his work ethic is very, very big.’