Matt Maher previews Aston Villa's clash with Chelsea

Express & Star

Matt Maher previews Villa's home clash with Chelsea. Unai Emery's men welcome Chelsea to Villa Park - looking to back up their point against leaders Liverpool in mid week.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon from Boddymore. The wind swept Boddymore deep as Mike explained, but what

00:07might change is a bit more pale of black, even than usual. Unai Emery has been previewing

00:13the Villas match with Chelsea on Saturday. Another game, three days after the last one,

00:20a thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool, but this game with Chelsea really stands out for Villa.

00:26It's a big one. Villa 9th in the Premier League table, Chelsea 5th in a place that

00:32is probably going to earn a Champions League spot next season. Chelsea essentially are

00:36where Villa want to be, they're four points ahead of them. So this game, we've got 12

00:41Premier League games to go. If it's not quite in must-win territory, then it's probably

00:45in must-not-lose territory for Villa, but it certainly is a game we'll want to win to

00:50close the gap on the West London club and breathe some life into their push for European

00:57football. It's five Premier League games without a win for Villa, which seems strange because

01:03four of them have been draws, just one defeat at walls, and obviously there's been wins

01:08in the Champions League and the FA Cup in between that. But they do need to get back

01:13on track in the Premier League, and tomorrow's bit of, well, what you described as a six

01:18pointer in the race for Champions League football. As has been the case for much of

01:23the last few weeks, we've got to talk on injuries and where Villa are, particularly in defence.

01:28Axel Bizarzi, who was impressive against Liverpool in midweek. He can't play against Chelsea,

01:33his parent club, but there is going to be a change at centre-back, but who's going to

01:37come in? Will it be Esri Konza, who's missed the last few games through injury, or will

01:44it be Lamar Bogard? Unai Emery preparing to make a late call on Konza after training

01:52later today, but he has full confidence in Bogard as he comes in. Leon Bailey, another

01:57player who could be back, otherwise Amadou Anana and Ross Barclay are still out, along

02:01with Pouwteres.

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