The Blues took a major step towards securing Champions League football for next season with a 2-1 win over Leicester midweek. However, their job is not done yet. If they fail to beat Villa on the final matchday of the season and results elsewhere go against them, they will finish outside the top four.
For the second time in two seasons, Chelsea find themselves going into the final matchday in need of all three points. Despite a win over the Foxes, they were unable to secure Champions League football as 24 hours later, Liverpool beat Burnley to close the gap between the teams to one point. On the final matchday, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Leicester City will compete for the two remaining UCL spots.
Chelsea play Aston Villa away from home in their last league match of the season. The Blues’ rise to the top four is nothing short of remarkable, given how they were languishing in ninth when Thomas Tuchel took over. The German immediately turned the team’s fortunes around and helped them scale the table while qualifying for two-cup finals. Their match against Aston Villa will not bring trophies, but it is not any less important than a final. They need maximum points to secure the third position in the table. The failure to do so could allow the chasers to overtake them.
Aston Villa will be hoping to spoil the party once more. They beat Tottenham midweek to hurt their European qualification chances. With Jack Grealish back fit and Ollie Watkins firing, Dean Smith’s side will seriously fancy their chances against Chelsea. Nonetheless, Villa have nothing to play for in this match. They will finish eleventh whether they win or lose this game.
Key Players
The return of Jack Grealish to the starting eleven was a welcome sight for Villa fans – and it brought immediate returns. While Grealish wasn’t the scorer or the assist provider for either of Villa’s goals against Tottenham, his being on the pitch did have a positive impact. Villa won on the night, coming from behind to beat Spurs 2-1. Now, with their fans back in the stadium, they will hope to repeat that result against Chelsea.
Unlike Grealish, Ollie Watkins did have an impact on Aston Villa against Tottenham. He scored what turned out to be the winning goal of the match. That was Watkins’ 16th goal of the season – a good return on a modest investment for the club. The Englishman has been in fine form lately and will be hoping to end his season on a high. His current form could even lead to an England national team call-up, with the Euros on the horizon.
Before the league match against Leicester City on Tuesday night, Mason Mount collected Chelsea’s Player of the Year award – a memento of his incredible journey from a scholar to a first-team regular. The Englishman has thrived under two different managers and managed to score some important goals for the Blues. Overall, Mount scored nine times this season and provided seven assists.
There were plenty of times Timo Werner held his head in his hands against Leicester City. The German was first denied a clear penalty before two of his goals were chalked off by the VAR – the clearest sign that this really hasn’t been his luckiest season. Nevertheless, Werner has still managed to put up good numbers and is Chelsea’s most prolific attacker. He has scored 12 times this season and also provided 14 assists.
Prediction
Chelsea got the job done against Leicester midweek when they beat the Foxes 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in front of thousands of returning fans. They moved to third in the table. As a result, four points clear of Liverpool, who caught up to them 24 hours later. Heading into the final matchday, the Blues can still miss out on a Champions League spot, at least via the traditional route. They need to beat Aston Villa as leaving anything to chance could end up in a catastrophe.
Aston Villa are no pushovers, though and could provide the Blues with a difficult challenge. Their win over Tottenham midweek proved they have the capacity to match teams much bigger than them. However, Villa don’t have anything left to play for this season. In comparison, Chelsea do, and it is something of great value to the club. Qualifying for the Champions League is what they tasked Thomas Tuchel with. As such, they need to win their final game of the season, and with the personnel they have at their disposal, they should be able to do it.
