Chelsea vs. Aston Villa: Key Takeaways from Jose Mourinho's Pre-Match Presser

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that visiting teams no longer fear coming to Stamford Bridge after the Blues' terrible start to the new season.

The defending Premier League champions face a home clash with Aston Villa this Saturday having picked up only four points at Stamford Bridge all season. 

Chelsea only have eight points from eight games and they need a result against Villa, but Mourinho suggested ahead of the clash that Tim Sherwood's side will believe they can get a result in west London, per Hamish Mackay in the Mirror:

"[It is] one thing is to go to a stadium where there is a huge percentage of defeats for the away team. Another thing is to go to a stadium where the home team in the last four games has won only once. I really believe every team coming to Stamford Bridge doesn’t fear us. They think they can get a result."

Star striker Diego Costa returns this weekend from suspension having missed the last two Premier League clashes against Newcastle United and Southampton, from which Chelsea picked up just one point.

Mourinho said that, with the Spaniard's return to the squad, the Blues can have no excuses if they do not pick up three points against struggling Villa, per football writer Miguel Delaney:

Chelsea's atrocious recent form has stemmed from the startling drop off in quality from the majority of the Blues' star players.

The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic have been uncharacteristically poor, but Mourinho was quick to back his Serbian defensive midfielder in Friday's press conference, per Chelsea's Twitter feed:

Right-back Branislav Ivanovic has been another Blues player woefully short of form in the 2015-16 campaign, and the Portuguese manager confirmed that he will be unavailable for Saturday's clash after picking up an injury while on international duty, per Delaney:

In Villa's last three visits to Stamford Bridge in the league they have failed to pick up a single point, conceding 13 goals while scoring just one.

Sherwood's side are currently sitting in the relegation zone in the Premier League, and despite Chelsea's recent poor form, the hosts are still heavy favourites to win on Saturday.

Failure to pick up all three points and Mourinho's position as manager at the club will come under even further scrutiny, per Bleacher Report's Andy Brassell:

Mourinho has had his struggles off the pitch also in recent times as he has been handed a fine and suspended ban for questioning the match officials after Chelsea's defeat to Southampton on October 3.

He revealed ahead of the Villa clash that he plans to appeal the sanction, per Mackay.

What started as a blip for the defending champions has recently turned into almost a full-blown crisis and a defeat to Villa could see major changes made at Stamford Bridge. 

However, despite the confidence that Villa will undoubtedly have going to west London after Chelsea's recent poor form, the hosts still have the quality to prevail.

Costa's return could likely prove important and a convincing victory against the Birmingham outfit could be just what Chelsea need to finally get their season back on track.