Chelsea are searching for their third consecutive victory in all competitions when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea have returned from the international break in fine form, beating Leicester City and Heidenheim to extend their unbeaten run to five matches. Enzo Maresca’s side know there will be dropped points between Liverpool and Manchester City in Sunday’s late kick-off and could take advantage earlier in the day.

They face a Villa side short on confidence despite a positive start to the season, with Unai Emery’s side having failed to win any of their last seven matches. Draws with Crystal Palace and Juventus have steadied the ship after a four-game losing streak but the Villans could do with continuing their impressive Stamford Bridge form on Sunday. They have kept three clean sheets and earned two victories in their last three trips.

Here is 90min’s guide to a high-octane affair in west London.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Chelsea only have a couple of injury concerns ahead of Villa’s visit, with right-back still potentially an issue for the Blues. Reece James remains sidelined with a hamstring issue and won’t return until 2025, the same injury that is keeping young summer signing Omari Kellyman out of action.

Malo Gusto has missed Chelsea’s last two games but is expected to return on Sunday, as is Pedro Neto after he picked up a knock on international duty with Portugal.

Having made sweeping changes to his starting XI during the midweek win over Hoffenheim, Maresca is likely to field a similar lineup to the one that beat his former employers Leicester last weekend.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Felix; Jackson.

Emery has plenty of options at his disposal as he looks for a much-needed victory on Sunday, but he will be without Jacob Ramsey for the journey south. Amadou Onana is also being assessed ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge but could be available in some capacity.

Ezri Konsa returned to the bench for the midweek goalless draw with Juventus and is expected to start on Sunday. The England international is likely to displace Diego Carlos in the Villa XI.

Morgan Rogers has scored in two of his last three away trips in the Premier League and could prove a handful for a Chelsea defence beginning to earn clean sheets. Ollie Watkins has netted in his last two trips to Stamford Bridge and bagged his first goal for the Villans since mid-October during last weekend’s draw with Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-4-1-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn; Rogers; Watkins.

This is a fixture Villa have enjoyed over recent seasons, with their organisation and intensity proving too powerful for previous Chelsea regimes. However, Maresca’s men have found their feet after a shaky start to the campaign and will pose a completely different – and significantly harder – challenge to Villa on Sunday.

The Villans’ poor form should buoy the Blues ahead of their visit, with the in-form Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer looking to undo a defence that has been leaky in the Premier League over recent weeks.

Having been able to field a new XI midweek while Villa were involved in their dogfight with Juventus, a fresh Chelsea side should secure victory on Sunday.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

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