Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is hoping that his strong record against Villa will continue when they take on Unai Emery’s side later this afternoon. The Blues boss has made only one change to the team that drew against Bournemouth.
The Blues have had a rough start to the season but were the better side for large parts of the game against Bournemouth last weekend.
Their only win so far this campaign has come at home against newly promoted Luton Town so it will be interesting to see how they perform against an Aston Villa side who are yet to lose a game in London under Unai Emery.
The Chelsea boss confirmed he had a good relationship with the Aston Villa manager and was looking forward to seeing him ahead of the game.
Pochettino told the press ahead of the game: “We have a good relationship. He started to coach earlier than me when I was in Spain with different clubs. He is a great coach, and I have a good relationship with the staff of Aston Villa. It will be good to see him.”
The one positive for the game against Bournemouth was that new goalkeeper Robert Sanchez looked really great and looked like he’d finally settled in at the club after moving from Brighton to West London.
In a week where Chelsea have been linked to Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, he will do well to continue improving as the club will need him if they are to go on and improve their results.
Villa played on Europe on Thursday while Chelsea had a week to prepare for this, so with all that in mind, here is how Pochettino lined up.
1. Robert Sanchez 4.5
Incredibly unlucky not to concede after gifting Joao Pedro the ball. Looked nervous when playing out from the back. Great save in the second half. | AFP via Getty Images
2. Cole Palmer- 6
Started in the No 10 role and even though he showed flashes of brilliance, he just did not get going before a brilliant assist saved the day. | Getty Images
3. Nicolas Jackson-7
Uses so much energy in winning the ball back and when he got into the critical area he just could not master the energy to finish. Smart strike for his goal. | Getty Images
4. Marc Cucurella-6
Was paired against the electric Mitoma. Held his own for the majority of the game even if he did not attack as much he would have liked. | Getty Images