Aston Villa vs. Chelsea Betting Tips: Two bets to kick off Super Sunday

A barnstorming Super Sunday gets underway with an exciting Premier League clash, as Chelsea are welcomed back from Milan with a trip to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa.

The Blues are looking to secure their fifth consecutive win under new gaffer Graham Potter, who has turned their fortunes around after they stagnated under previous coach Thomas Tuchel. The German coach had only won three of their first seven games in all competitions this season, after finishing the last campaign with just three wins in nine, and was replaced by the Brighton manager just before the international break.

Potter is one of the very finest British managers around right now and, as much as it pains me that he isn’t England manager yet, he has picked up right where he left off with the Seagulls.

He’s already imprinting a winning philosophy on this Chelsea side that was stuck in a rut and has now won nine of the 12 games he’s managed across both sides this season - losing just once. The most impressive thing about his sides is that they rarely lose the xG battle, winning all 12 so far this year, as they often dominate games and create exceptional chances.

Villa, meanwhile, are almost completely the opposite. Steven Gerrard’s side have won just twice in the Premier League so far this term, making him the current favourite to be the next manager to leave their post, though they are unbeaten in their last four (W1 D3).

The calibre of those sides certainly varies though and while holding the seemingly unstoppable Manchester City to a 1-1 draw is arguably their best result this campaign, failing to beat a Leeds United side that played basically the entire second half with 10-men before settling for a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest - who were beaten 4-0 by bottom-of-the-league Leicester the week before.

It seems that Gerrard still doesn’t know his best XI halfway through October and, though they are missing several key players through injury, it’s been a cause for discontent amongst fans. Emi Buendia and Phillippe Coutinho seem to struggle playing alongside one another, though Leon Bailey - who is doubtful for this one - hasn’t really done enough to earn a starting berth on the right of the front three.

Results need to change for the Villains soon if Gerrard is to preserve his place in the dugout but with games against Fulham, Brentford, and Newcastle on the horizon, the ghoulish nature of their results continuing could be the final nail in his coffin.

One man that could contribute to that is Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has certainly been enjoying himself under Graham Potter’s stewardship.

Having only scored in one his eight appearances at club level since April, there were question marks over the Gabonese forward and whether he was the kind of player the Blues would benefit from signing.

Three goals in his last three has changed the tide on the Stamford Bridge terraces, and Aubameyang now looks like he could have been a very shrewd acquisition for just £10m.

He has also scored twice in four career starts against Sunday’s opposition - including bagging a goal and an assist in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Villa just under one year ago.

Two players that have been no stranger to a bit of action recently are Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey and his Chelsea counterpart Mateo Kovacic.

The young England starlet has clearly been taking notes from his gaffer, emerging as one of the better performers in a subpar side - just as Gerrard did towards the end of his Liverpool career.

He’s been in the thick of the wars in the middle of the park for his side, and that is evidenced by the four bookings he’s already picked up. He’s earned a card in half of his starts in the Premier League this year, including three in his last five games.

He’s also been on the receiving end of some brutal treatment from opposition players, with no central midfielder suffering more fouls (17) than him.

His direct opponent in this one should be Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who has picked up two bookings in his last three starts. With N’Golo Kante out of the side he’s had to pick up more slack in terms of defensive work, which is evidenced by the fact he’s committed seven fouls in his last 270 minutes compared to just one in the 270 before that.

Taking charge of this one is Robert Jones, who has dished out 20 bookings and awarded two penalties in his last four Premier League assignments - including booking Jacob Ramsey in Aston Villa’s trip to the Emirates.