Even though Potter has not been in the job for long, the coach will be feeling the heat on the back of three successive Premier League defeats.
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Chelsea will play their first mid-season friendly match when they take on fellow Premier League club Aston Villa. The contest which will be happening in Dubai will see two sides that are in contrasting runs of form in the league taking on each other. Ever since Unai Emery’s appointment Villa have been on an upward trend, while the Blues have been struggling big-time in their recent matches. Aston Villa have already played two friendlies during the World Cup break, however, Chelsea will be playing their first match since losing to Newcastle United in the league on November 12.
It is safe to say that pressure is already mounting on Graham Potter. Even though he has not been in the job for long, the coach will be feeling the heat on the back of three successive Premier League defeats. Chelsea have 21 points from 14 games to sit eight in the league table. On the other hand, Aston Villa have registered back-to-back league victories in Emery’s first two games. They both have come against Manchester United and Brighton. Having already played two friendlies, Villa will be playing two more before their season resumes.
Read More – Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Records, Stats, Goals, Head to Head & everything to know
A few players from both sides have represented or still playing for their countries in this World Cup. Thereby, Aston Villa will miss goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Jan Bednarek and Leander Dendoncker for this fixture. On the other hand, Chelsea have had more players traveling to Qatar, thereby increasing their absentees’ list. Besides, they will be without Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante for this match. On a positive front, Reece James has returned to training but it is unclear if he can play in the upcoming friendly.
Aston Villa possible line-up: Olsen, Young, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Kamara, McGinn, Luiz, Bailey, Watkins, Ings
Chelsea possible line-up: Kepa, Rankine, Chalobah, Humphreys, Cucurella, Jorginho, Chukwuemeka, Casadei, Hutchinson, Aubameyang, Broja
Chelsea
| Opponents | Score |
| Newcastle | 1-0 (L) |
| Manchester City | 2-0 (L) |
| Arsenal | 0-1 (L) |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2-1 (W) |
| Brighton | 4-1 (L) |
Aston Villa
| Opponents | Score |
| Brighton | 2-2 |
| Cardiff | 3-1 (L) |
| Brighton | 1-2 (W) |
| Manchester United | 4-2 (L) |
| Manchester United | 3-1 (W) |
| Last 5 matches (All competitions) | Results |
| Aston Villa lose to Chelsea | 0-2 |
| Aston Villa lose to Chelsea | 1-3 |
| Chelsea beat Aston Villa | 2-1 |
| Chelsea beat Aston Villa | 3-0 |
| Aston Villa beat Chelsea | 2-1 |
The club friendly between Aston Villa and Chelsea will take place at Al Nahyan Stadium on Sunday at 7:40 pm IST.
The club friendly between Aston Villa and Chelsea can be seen on chelsea.com, The 5th Stand and VillaTV. Visit the official websites for more details.
