The next round of Premier League action takes place in midweek, over the span of three days, but it’s extremely overloaded on Wednesday night. And it is on Wednesday where we find the top game of this round, Aston Villa versus Chelsea. Both are long gone from competing in the Premier League title race, but both still have serious top four aspirations. So this is the standout fixture of matchday 29. John McGinn (knee) and Harvey Elliott (unspecified) are both nearing a return from injury, but this match might come too soon for them.
Chelsea at Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Wed March 4, 7:30pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Team News: Chelsea Aston Villa
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 38% Draw 27% Aston Villa 35%
Premier League Standings: Chelsea 6th, 45 points Aston Villa 4th, 51 points
Aston Villa Team News
More likely, a mid-March return for both of them, while the rest of the health and fitness situation remains unchanged.
Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Andres Garcia remain sidelined as longer-term injury absentees. Villa enter this match in fourth place, three points ahead of fifth place Liverpool. They’re six ahead of sixth place Chelsea. So you’ve heard the term “relegation six-pointer”?
I guess you can call this matchup a “UCL qualification six-pointer” or maybe a “top four six-pointer.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.