Aston Villa vs Chelsea Match Preview

 

Emile Heskey, given a chance to prove his worth under new Villa boss Gerrard Houllier, created the first goal of the match for Aston Villa against Tottenham two weeks ago as he powered down the right wing and in toward goal then fed the ball to Mark Albrighton at the far post. Albrighton slid the ball home for his first EPL goal.

The goal was all Heskey’s work though, and it was a moment that justified his selection. But Heskey was injured later and had to go off.

Meanwhile Tottenham’s newest favorite Rafael van der Vaart equalized in stoppage time then scored the winner for Spurs after the break.

The loss left the Villains in eighth place. Heskey, who had to be subbed, may be unavailable this weekend due to the knock he took. Mark Albrighton and Gabriel Agbonlahor are also questionable for this weekend.

Chelsea proved their dominance against Arsenal last time out with a 2-0 victory over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge. Didier Drogba and Alex got the goals, and two fine ones they were.

Bad news struck the club last week, though, when it was revealed that Israeli international midfielder Yossi Benayoun had suffered a recurrence of an Achilles injury. Initial estimates vaguely referenced some “months” on the sidelines. The news got worse this week, however, when the estimate was refined to be as many as six months on the sidelines.

Salomon Kalou is also out due to injury, and so too is Alex after sustaining a knock in the Arsenal match. Bosingwa and Lampard may be available, however, and the condition of John Terry, who missed England’s qualifier against Montenegro last week due to a back problem, is being monitored.

LATE NEWS FROM THE CHELSEA CAMP: Drogba is out of Saturday's clash with Villa due to a fever. Lampard is still unavailable due the groin injury. John Terry is in the squad.

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