Chelsea FC seem to be riding high right now, as they have now turned around their season form; both domestically and on the continent. They also have a beat on closing a deal for a new Director of Recruiting, James Shields of Southampton FC, and you can read more on that here.
So while Todd Boehly is making moves and the Blues are trending upward, their opponents on Sunday, Aston Villa have an arrow pointing the opposite direction. It may not be long until the sack man comes for Steven Gerrard.
Chelsea at Aston Villa FYIs
Sun, Oct. 16, Villa Park 4pm
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction: go here
Records: Chelsea 5-1-2 Aston Villa 2-3-4
Premier League Form: Chelsea WWWLW Aston Villa DDWDL
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts
Premier League Position: Chelsea 4th, 16 points Aston Villa 16th, 9 points
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 53% Aston Villa 22% Draw 25%
Team News for Both Sides
Let’s start with the heavily favored Blues, who have summer signing Wesley Fofana (knee) as a long-term injury absentee. N’Golo Kante (hamstring) continues to be very injury-plagued, at this stage in his career, and he’s sidelined once again here. Meanwhile Reece James (knee) and Hakim Ziyech (illness) are doubts.
Flipping over to the Villans, they will be sans Diego Carlos (achilles), Lucas Digne (ankle), Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Ludwig Augustinsson (hamstring).
Meanwhile Leon Bailey is a doubt due to a reason that is “undisclosed.” In the words of Ned Flanders, when Abe Simpson told him that he had to steal his boat for a secret reason: “oooh, sounds spine tingling dingling.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.