Chelsea has not played a premier league match in two weeks and has lost some position in the standings.
With 29 points, the former European Champion, is now in seventh place with the four teams above it all tied with 30 points. A win Sunday puts Chelsea into third place with a two point margin, but the team must win. Chelsea took down Leeds 5 -1 in the Carling Cup, but the win followed a disappointing weekend.
Rafa Benitez's club had a chance to make up for their dismal UEFA Champions League run by winning the Club World Cup against Brazil's Corinthians.
Chelsea was widely believed to be a favorite, but the English side continued to drag and ended up losing 1 - 0 in the final. Chelsea has only won once in its last eight EPL matches. During that stretch the team has drawn four times and lost three times. There are rumors buzzing that Radamel Falcao is coming in January and that move could give Chelsea the boost it needs to get back in contention. They currently trail second place Manchester City by 10 points in the standings and they are 13 points behind first place Manchester United.
Their opponents on Sunday are sixteenth place Aston Villa. Aston Villa has not lost a match in five games and are looking to turn an overall tough season around. They have a record of two wins, two draws, and five losses away from home and that alone should play to Chelsea's advantage. More importantly, this team has only scored 15 goals in 17 matches and relies heavily on the scoring of Christian Benteke who has five goals this year.
Prediction: Chelsea SHOULD win, but their erratic nature makes this hard to predict. Nonetheless, I will give Benitez's team the benefit of the doubt and a 3-1 win.
Start Time: 11 a.m. EST
TV Info: Fox Soccer Channel