Aston Villa vs. Chelsea: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream and TV Info

After a rare week of rest, Chelsea travel to Birmingham on Saturday to face Aston Villa.

The Blues drew 1-1 with title rivals Manchester City last time out to preserve their five-point lead at the top of the table, and they'll want to ensure they do not let that slip at Villa Park.

Paul Lambert's side were thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal in their most recent outing, so it's all pointing to a Chelsea win.

That said, Villa Park has proved a difficult hunting ground for Jose Mourinho in the past. The Chelsea boss has never got a win in his four visits there.

And any manager worth his corn will always be wary of a backlash from a team that has recently taken a beating in the way Villa did last week.

The home side have a point to prove and know a loss to Chelsea could see them slip into the Premier League's bottom three if results elsewhere go against them.

There's plenty riding on this game for both teams.

Date: Saturday, February 7

Time: 3 p.m. GMT / 10 a.m. ET

Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham

TV Info: NBCSN (U.S. only)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Last 5 Games

Jan 4	Aston Villa 1-0 Blackpool
Jan 10	Leicester City 1-0 Aston Villa
Jan 17	Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool
Jan 25	Aston Villa 2-1 Bournemouth
Feb 1	Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa

Jan 17	Swansea City 0-5 Chelsea
Jan 20	Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Jan 24	Chelsea 2-4 Bradford City
Jan 27	Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (AET)
Jan 31	Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City

Predicted Formations

Chelsea have operated with a 4-2-3-1 formation this season, so despite Diego Costa being suspended and Cesc Fabregas likely to miss out through injury, we can expect Mourinho to keep things the same.

Ramires' battling display against Manchester City should keep him in midfield alongside Nemanja Matic, while Loic Remy will be brimming with confidence after scoring in the same game, so he should lead the line ahead of Didier Drogba.

Juan Cuadrado joined Chelsea on Monday, but Mourinho will probably use the Colombian from the bench on Saturday.

As for Aston Villa, they're recovering from that aforementioned 5-0 thumping to Arsenal.

Paul Lambert will need a response from his players, and given it's Chelsea, he may well change things around slightly.

The Villa boss has a habit of getting under Mourinho's skin—think last season when Villa got a shock 1-0 victory at Villa Park against Chelsea—so he may be feeling a little luckier than we'd expect.

Key to that Villa win was how they hit Chelsea on the break, and with Scott Sinclair and Carles Gil now among his ranks, he may use the pair to give more his side width.

Combined with the pace of Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke, Villa may well fancy themselves to get some joy against a Chelsea side who will be going all out for a win to strengthen their title bid.

That's the key here—a draw will be a good result for Villa. They're expected to lose and any result after last week's humbling will be deemed a positive.

B/R

Players to Watch

Fabian Delph (Aston Villa)

England man Fabian Delph is going to be vital in the heart of midfield. That's where Chelsea dominate teams, so he'll need to win his battle with Nemanja Matic. If he can, Villa will build from there and be in a position to get Chelsea on the back foot.

Delph was the unlikely hero in Villa's 1-0 defeat of Chelsea last season, scoring the vital goal. If he can perform as he did that day, Lambert's side are in with a shout of getting something.

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

Loic Remy (Chelsea)

With no Diego Costa in the Premier League until the end of February, Mourinho is looking to Didier Drogba and Loic Remy to get keep their dominance in the title race going.

Remy answered his manager's call last weekend, putting Chelsea ahead against Manchester City in their 1-1 draw. He drifted in and out of that game, starved of service.

Chelsea are expected to dominate possession at Villa Park, though, so his chances on goal should be greater.

Remy will want to make his mark and get his Chelsea career up and running after watching most of the action this season from the sidelines.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Key Battle: Matic vs. Delph

We've touched upon it already, but the midfield battle is where this game will be won and lost.

Chelsea were on top at Villa Park last season, but their failure to take their chances early on meant the home side grew in confidence and got their reward for digging in.

Delph is a tough character, and he'll look to get in among the Chelsea midfielders and break up play.

In front of him will be the imposing form of Matic, though. Few have gotten the better of the Serbian, so Delph will have his work cut out.

Villa to need to make sure they bypass Matic in midfield and, where possible, put him under pressure when in possession. He doesn't like being hurried, and that's an area where Delph can excel.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Prediction

Aston Villa 0-3 Chelsea

Odds

Home win: 10/1

Away win: 3/10

Draw: 17/4

First goalscorer: Christian Benteke (12/1)

*Odds via Oddschecker

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes