Chelsea put themselves in the driving seat for a top-four finish by beating Leicester City in midweek; now they must finish the job against Aston Villa.
Three points guarantees Thomas Tuchel’s side third place, with anything less relying on one of Liverpool or Leicester slipping up in their own final games of the season.
With a Champions League final to come against Manchester City, this is the third of four enormous games for the Blues in succession – and they might be thankful that, in contrast to the other three, this time their opponents have nothing riding on the game themselves.
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Villa know they’ll finish the season in 11th regardless of this result, and the planning will have already started for how to keep building and improving next term – with talisman Jack Grealish preferably still at the heart of their team.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
When is the game?
The match kicks off at 4pm on Sunday, 23 May along with all other Premier League games.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Action. Subscribers can stream via the Sky Go app.
If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content.
What is the team news?
Ross Barkley has played his last game on loan as he cannot face his parent side. Matthew Cash, Morgan Sanson and Trezeguet are all out injured for Villa.
Chelsea will be missing N’Golo Kante in all likelihood, as they won’t want to risk him before the Champions League final. Kai Havertz is a doubt.
Predicted line-ups
AVL – Martinez; Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Nakamba; Traore, Grealish, El Ghazi; Watkins
CHE – Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Pulisic; Werner
Odds
Aston Villa – 6/1
Draw – 39/10
Chelsea – 11/21
Prediction
Chelsea to seal the deal and ensure a top-four finish – leaving them free to focus on winning the final on a high. Villa 1-3 Chelsea.
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