online sports betting news

Ten of England’s international squad come face to face in Saturday’s early Premier League game, when Chelsea head to the midlands to take on Aston Villa. Martin O’Neill’s Villa sit in a credible seventh place, and should take a lot of pride that they have a good crop of England internationals in their ranks. While Villa’s representatives in the international squad do not, as of yet, have the influence on the starting eleven which Chelsea’s do, it is certainly a sign of intent that the Villains are heading in the right direction.

Villa will need to see a turn around in form, as they have not managed to pick up a win in their previous two league games. A defeat away to Blackburn was followed by a home draw with Manchester City. Villa have only won two of their four home games this season, where Chelsea have won three of their four matches away from Stamford Bridge. These are indicators which should point to another three points for the Blues, but the weekend fixtures following international games are where upsets occur.

Chelsea can field a full team of starting internationals, and that means their squad is pulled apart when it comes to dates in the diary when the best of the best head off to perform for their country. From England, to France, to the Czech Republic, to Ghana, to Brazil, Chelsea sound like a wandering band of footballing journeymen. It is a small price to pay for having world class players make up your starting eleven of course, but it does mean that fatigue, both physical and mental may play their parts when it is time to get back into the swing of domestic games.

The Blues will have influential midfielder Michael Ballack missing, after he was crocked after coming together in a challenge with team-mate Yury Zhirkov in Germany’s big game against Russia last weekend. Chelsea toppled Villa 1-0 in last season’s corresponding fixture, the solitary goal coming from Frenchman Niklas Anelka, which was the first time that Chelsea had won at Villa Park in the League for a good ten years. It may be a close call again this time around, as Villa on a five game unbeaten streak at home in all competitions.

A lot of Villa’s progress forward this season has been put down to the width that O’Neill has driven into their game. Chelsea are known for being a tight, controlled unit in the centre of the park, and width, as was seen in their match against Porto, could expose some weaknesses. The width could be a factor, but if that starts to be an influence in the game, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has the tools in the dugout to make major changes and take back control, and they will welcome Petr Cech back in goal after his suspension. This is very often the difference between a genuine title contender and a pretender. Chelsea are the kings of the Premier League when it comes to rescuing points after going behind.

That stat alone should make for a great Draw No Bet punt. You can expect Chelsea to at least get a draw out of this game. Frank Lampard is surely due a goal now after a barren run of nine games. Michael Essien may celebrate his 100th game for Chelsea with one of his specials too. If you are looking for anytime scorers, then Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor is their top scorer with 4 league goals, while for Chelsea, Didier Drogba has 6 league goals, and Anelka has 3.

Villa to Win: 18/5 at William Hill
Draw: 11/4 at Coral
Chelsea to win: 5/6 at BetFred

Anytime scorer: Frank Lampard 13/5 at Coral
Draw No Bet: Villa 9/4 at Bet365

Betting Advice: This should be quite a tight fixture as both teams may take some time to settle back into their league rhythm. Chelsea clearly have the edge in class in all aspects of the game. This could end up being a tense midfield battle, and Chelsea can produce that one spark of inspiration from the likes of Lampard, Deco, Cole and Essien which could settle this.