Chelsea will travel to bottom of the league Aston Villa, with the latter reeling from the recent loss of their former manager Remi Garde, and on the brink of relegation.
The Midlands club are preparing for their first season in the Championship and Chelsea will almost certainly be picking up the three points when they leave Villa Park.
Head to Head
The Blues have a resounding dominance in this fixture, winning seven out of the last eight games between the two sides. This includes an 8-0 thrashing of Villa in 2012. Fans of the struggling side will be praying that they don’t see their side be beaten again in quite this fashion.
None of the omens look good for Villa. Being on the clubs worst run in 29 years, having lost 21 games already this season. This includes a run of six losses in their last six games.
Something that is even more worrying for anyone who is associated with Aston Villa is their home form is not just poor this season, it stems back for five years. The Villans have won just 19 of their last 85 matches at Villa Park, a stat which goes all the way back to December 2011.
Goals galore?
Chelsea are the clear favourites, having still not lost in the league since Guus Hiddink’s arrival in December and some of the more attacking players should see this game as potentially a match to grab a few goals.
Despite Diego Costa, Chelsea’s main man upfront, currently serving a match ban this game provides players such as Loic Remy, Willian and Eden Hazard the chance to further their tallies for the season.
With the home side boasting the worst defensive record in the Premier League and Chelsea scoring 12 goals in their last five league games, this game certainly has the potential to be a goal fest.
Little to fight for
Despite Chelsea certainly looking to take three points and continue their steady ride up the table and Aston Villa still mathematically having a chance at achieving safety come the end of the season, it is unclear to see what either club can realistically aim for.
The London club have no chance of securing any silverware after being well and truly out of the title race, and recently being knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton and the Champions League by Paris Saint Germain, there is little to fight for.
A top four position seems too much to ask for given that Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as surprise contenders for two of those positions, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City looking like the likeliest trio to fight it out for the last two spots.
A top six finish should be seen as an achievement considering how far down the table the Blues were when Hiddink arrived, but for a club like Chelsea, what does a top six finish actually achieve?
Villa on the other hand realistically have nothing to aim for other than making the necessary changes and arrangements required for a successful Championship campaign next season - identifying which players need to be moved on and who needs to be brought in.
The first of these changes came from Garde himself, removing himself from the club in order for them to find the right man who has experience of gaining promotion to the Premier League.