There once was a time when Villa fans would have welcomed a visit by Saturday’s opponents Chelsea, such was Villa’s incredibly good record against them, despite the West London club’s dramatic rise into the football elite in the mid-2000s.
In fact it took Jose Mourinho until his sixth attempt to win at Villa Park, when his side beat Villa 2-1 last February. Before then, he had a record of three draws and two defeats at Villa Park.
From 2003 to 2011, Chelsea only beat Villa at Villa Park once, in 2009, when current interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was in his first spell as Chelsea interim boss. On that day, Chelsea won 1-0 courtesy of an early Nicolas Anelka goal.
Despite Chelsea’s appalling season by their own standards, with last season’s Premier League champions looking likely to miss out on European football, they are still comfortable favourites to come out on top against an appalling Villa side on Saturday afternoon.
Villa’s recent record against Chelsea is the complete opposite of the proud achievement it used to be, with heavy losses against defending Premier League champions Chelsea now the accepted norm.
Remind yourself of Villa’s last five games against Chelsea here:
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