Chelsea have found their stride under Graham Potter in recent weeks, and the Blues could make it three consecutive Premier League wins if they beat Aston Villa on Sunday.
A dominant display on Tuesday saw Chelsea defeat AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro, with first-half goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang securing the victory. The win sent Chelsea top of their group, but a knee injury picked up by Reece James in the clash has now put his World Cup in doubt.
Potter's side must now turn their attention to the Premier League, with a trip to Villa Park awaiting. Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four, but the Blues have lost just one of their last 11 meetings with Villa as history falls in their favour.
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Wesley Fofana, N'Golo Kante and James are all set to miss the trip to the Midlands, with the latter's injury seemingly worse than first expected. Hakim Ziyech didn't travel to Milan on Tuesday, but he could return to the squad on Sunday.
So, could Chelsea make it three league wins on the bounce this weekend? We simulated the game to try and predict the outcome. To complete the simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea score prediction
We then predict the hosts could line up in a 4-3-3 formation as follows: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young; Dendoncker, Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Ings, Watkins.
We predict that Potter could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Cucruella; Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Mount; Havertz, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Just three minutes in, Aston Villa took the lead when Douglas Luiz headed past Kepa at the back post following some awful marking from the Chelsea defence. But, the lead lasted just four minutes, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek levelling the score.
A Chelsea corner was half-cleared by Villa and ricocheted back into the box, causing a frenzy in the penalty area. After a pinball-like situation saw the ball fall to the feet of Loftus-Cheek, the midfielder managed to dig out a shot, passing the ball into the far corner to put the Blues ahead.
Raheem Sterling then managed to score a quickfire double not long after Loftus-Cheek's goal to put Chelsea 3-1 ahead in the opening 25 minutes. The first goal came with a stroke of luck, with Sterling's long-range effort heavily deflected through the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
But the second was much easier on the eyes, with the England international finishing off a well-worked team move. Kai Havertz received the ball on the edge of the box as Cesar Azpilicueta overlapped the German, and Havertz found the defender with a deft flick around his marker.
As Azpilicueta reached the byline, he fizzed a cross into Sterling, and he struck a powerful effort into the bottom corner to send the Blues two goals clear. The second half was much closer as Villa had a few chances of their own, but Aubameyang confirmed the win with 11 minutes to go as he notched Chelsea's fourth.
Marc Cucurella swung a curling cross into the box which was met by Aubameyang at the back post, and the striker caught the cross on the volley, powering into the roof of the net from close range.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Aston Villa 1-4 Chelsea
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Chelsea could produce a fantastic display at Villa Park on Sunday, beating Villa 4-1 in the simulation. Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were the standout players in an impressive display.
What will the score be between Chelsea and Aston Villa on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
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