Paul Merson thinks Graham Potter’s Chelsea will record a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
The former Aston Villa midfielder added that Unai Emery is doing a ‘great job’ and the Midlands side have been ‘underestimated’ ever since he replaced Steven Gerrard.
Both Chelsea and Villa go into their weekend showdown level on points. Three points for the away side at Stamford Bridge, then they will move into the top ten and drop this all-expensive Todd Boehly-built squad into the bottom half.
Forget about finishing in the Champions League places, it’s highly unlikely that the West London club will secure a European finish now, as a lot of their eggs will go into the Champions League basket.
Either way, this is a far different Villa team from the one Chelsea beat during the reverse fixture – Steven Gerrard was still in charge, for starters.
But, since Emery’s arrival, only both Manchester clubs and Arsenal have picked up more points, added to the fact that they have scored in every game and Merson is expecting them to find the back of the net again, as he told Sportskeeda.
“Chelsea and Aston Villa are on exactly the same number of points after 27 games – who could’ve predicted that?” asked Merson. “Aston Villa have improved with Unai Emery and are finding the back of the net every week with him in charge.
“I still don’t think Graham Potter has found his best eleven – I expect Chelsea to be a different animal in Europe – they’re not playing for anything in the Premier League. A place in the Conference League is the last thing they want. The only way they can reach the Champions League next season is by winning it this season – they’ve got bigger fish to fry.
“I think Emery is doing a great job at Villa – they’ve been underestimated so far and I don’t see how they don’t score in this game. I don’t think Chelsea can score a bundle of goals just yet, and they could drop points in this fixture.”
SAME POINTS. DIFFERENT MOOD
The Premier League table has Chelsea and Villa neck and neck. But the mood in each respective camp is different.
Both clubs sacked their managers this season, but Emery seems to have got the points on the board that Potter just hasn’t been able to muster.
Of course, when Emery arrived, Villa were hovering above the relegation zone and the strides they are making are very much encouraging for their long-term future, well, win at the Bridge, then it’s another statement of intent they will send out.
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