Chelsea return to Premier League action this weekend with a tricky-looking clash against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. The two sides are separated by goal difference either side of the halfway mark in the Premier League table.
A defeat on Saturday evening would see Graham Potter's side slip into the bottom-half of the table with just 10 games remaining. The international break has done little to ease concerns of a potentially difficult end to the campaign after several players suffered injury and fitness setbacks, although Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling were all spotted in training during Tuesday's session.
Pundits Paul Merson and Chris Sutton disagree over how they see the result panning out this weekend. While Sutton has more confidence in Potter's side, having gone unbeaten across all four matches in March, Merson was less convinced the Blues will pick up all three points in west London.
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"Chelsea and Aston Villa are on exactly the same number of points after 27 games - who could've predicted that? Aston Villa have improved with Unai Emery and are finding the back of the net every week with him in charge," the former Arsenal player wrote in his SportsKeeda column.
"I still don't think Graham Potter has found his best eleven. He got a great result against Leicester, but he changed it up again in the following game. Chelsea were excellent against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and they've got every chance against Real Madrid over two legs.
"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."
Paul Merson’s prediction: 1-1
Speaking to the BBC, Chris Sutton said: "I have to put my hands up and admit I've got Aston Villa wrong under Unai Emery. It felt to me like Villa had made a bit of progress since he replaced Steven Gerrard at the end of October but I found out this week that only three teams - Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United - have picked up more points since his first game in charge, a 3-1 win over United on 6 November.
"That stat surprised me, although I do always think of Villa as being dangerous. They carry a threat, whoever they play.
"In contrast, I keep asking myself why I keep going for Chelsea - they have done much better in the table based on my predictions than in real life - and I guess they have pulled the wool over my eyes all season. You can call me stubborn if you like but I am still going to stick with the Blues now because I do think they are getting better.
Chris Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
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