Chelsea vs Aston Villa: 7 Tips For Villa To Defeat Mourinho

6. Press The Dangermen

Against Arsenal, the aforementioned Delph, Karim El Ahmadi and Ashley Westwood closed down their midfield counterparts in pairs and interrupted their opponents passing play. Chelsea present a slightly different playing style but the ethos is still sound. The Blues have a more simplified central midfield than their London rivals, however ahead of the typical midfield pair are three players of immense skill. Juan Mata, back from injury, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Kevin De Bruyne, Andre Schurrle and Victor Moses combine intricate passing and movement with long range shooting and direct running. The former three in particular can unlock any defence, and Chelsea look to play the ball to their dangermen in the final third a lot quicker than Arsenal. Cutting out that initial ball could leave Villa stretched, but if they sit back Paul Lambert will know they cannot simply allow Chelsea to have possession, so doubling up on the players behind the main striker could keep out the Blues. Hull either showed too much naivety or too much respect to Chelsea and were blown away in the opening twenty minutes of their 2-0 loss on Sunday. Once the promoted side went toe to toe with the current Europa League holders, Chelsea's attacking threat diminished. With question marks over any of the potential strikers, neutralising the threat of Chelsea's 'number 10s' could stop their attacking menace.