Next 6 fixtures and predictions ahead of Chelsea clash

Aston Villa have opened up their Premier League account strongly, winning three from their first five outings. The thumping 5-1 defeat at St James’ Park in their opener gave cause for concern, but it appears that result was nothing more than a blip.

They came from behind against Crystal Palace last weekend to win late on thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Douglas Luiz before Leon Bailey added a third to make absolutely sure of the victory.

However, Unai Emery’s side suffered defeat in Poland on Thursday, losing 3-2 to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League. Defensive errors cost the Villans on their long-awaited return to the European stage.

An away trip to Stamford Bridge lies ahead this Sunday as they look to get back to winning ways against a struggling Chelsea side, who languish in 14th heading into the weekend.

Football FanCast has previewed and predicted Aston Villa’s next six fixtures.

Chelsea v Aston Villa

Chelsea have had an underwhelming start to their campaign under the stewardship of newly appointed head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

They’ve opened up their account with one win, two draws and two losses and the pressure will be cranked up this weekend as they play host to the Villans.

Chelsea will have the onus on them to attack the game, though that could play into the hands of the Villans.

The speedy duo of Diaby and Ollie Watkins could hurt Pochettino’s side in transition, so they’ll have to be positionally stubborn in order to avoid being caught out on the break.

With that cautious approach, however, it could result in a game of chess; a stalemate. Who budges first?

Prediction: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa v Everton

It’ll barely have been a month between visits to Villa Park for the Toffees when they make their way back to Birmingham for the third round of the EFL Cup on September 26th, and with how things went last time, morale might not be too high.

It was only the second weekend of the Premier League when Villa dismantled Sean Dyche’s side 4-0 on August 20th thanks to goals from John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, and Jhon Duran.

While the Merseysiders have since added the impressive-looking Beto from Serie A side Udinese, Emery has also added Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet to his squad to help cover the backline.

The one thing Everton could have in their favour is that with the Villans opening up their Europa Conference League campaign just five days earlier, they could be a little tired or preoccupied. It could also have the opposite effect and invigorate the team further.

Prediction: Aston Villa 3 – 0 Everton

Aston Villa v Brighton

Brighton finished one point and place above the Villans last season. That may suggest a hotly contested encounter that could go either way in this lunchtime kick-off.

And the difference could largely come down to who takes their chances. With an array of attacking talent on the field, the pair are both capable of putting each other to the sword.

The hosts will have to defend a lot better than they did against the Magpies, in their opener, if they are to keep the Seagulls at bay, but equally, Villa can cause the away side huge problems when retreating. Newcastle also struggled against Brighton, though.

It may be fashionable to predict the draw here, but De Zerbi’s system, paired with his firepower in attack, could be too much for the West Midlanders on a potentially goal-packed afternoon.

Admittedly this prediction is a little left-field, but the Premier League is full of surprises…

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-4 Brighton

Aston Villa vs Zrinjski Mostar

Following straight on from a tough clash with Brighton & Hove Albion will be Villa’s first home game in the Conference League.

The Villans still remain in search of an inaugural win in the competition, having lost their opening clash against Legia Warsaw.

Playing a game of this magnitude will have the Villa Park faithful in a raucous mood and this could make all the difference.

The opponents this time around will be Zrinsjki Mostar, a team not many will have heard of, from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zrinsjki got their first taste of this competition last year although they faltered at the final round of qualification against Slovan Bratislava, meaning they fell short of the actual group stage.

The majority of this team are either Croatian or Bosnian and their squad includes former Celta Vigo and Cagliari man Filip Bradaric.

Villa will be well up for this one in front of their own fans and in spite of the heavy match-load that will now be upon them, we are predicting them to seal a historic win on the continent.

Prediction: Aston Villa 3-0 Zrinsjki Mostar

Wolves v Aston Villa

The Black Country Derby commences on the first weekend of October.

The hosts are one of the favourites to go down this season, following the departure of highly-rated manager Julen Lopetegui.

The Spaniard left his post on the eve of the new season after losing multiple key first-team players without adequate replacements due to FFP (Financial Fair Play Regulations) concerns.

Gary O’Neil was quickly appointed as his successor, which too many appeared very underwhelming, however, he did retain Bournemouth’s Premier League status last season, despite being written off from the get-go.

So perhaps O’Neil is being too harshly judged. His side have produced positive showings this season, particularly against Manchester United, though, it ultimately resulted in a 1-0 defeat.

Villa will be largely expected to win this one, however, with home advantage, a Wolves win seems feasible.

Prediction: Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa v West Ham United

This same fixture last term produced a 1-0 away victory for the Hammers thanks to a 74th-minute winner from Pablo Fornals, though, that was under the previous regime with Steven Gerrard, so it will be a completely different challenge for Moyes’ side this time around.

West Ham have made an impressive start to the season, winning three, drawing one and losing one from their first five fixtures and Jarrod Bowen has been in electrifying form.

Villa will need to be resilient in order to keep him quiet and they mustn’t give many set-pieces away with the quality of James Ward-Prowse on the pitch.

Notwithstanding that, the West Midlanders are expected to be slight favourites, here, and the result will likely reflect that…

Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham United