Unai Emery has intriguing Jadon Sancho call to make for Aston Villa vs Chelsea – here’s why
Aston Villa supporters are expecting a big response when Chelsea come to town on Wednesday night.
Such was the level of embarrassment suffered when their Midlands rivals and Premier League’s bottom side Wolves turned them over 2-0 at Molineux last Friday.
Unai Emery and his Aston Villa players have been coming in for growing criticism in recent weeks, with one win in their last six games in all competitions.
Villa are now in real danger of dropping out of the Champions League places entirely, which for a club that continues to battle with PSR and UEFA financial restrictions, would be a massive blow.
Therefore, Emery will know he needs to make better team selection calls over the coming weeks, starting with one big decision against Chelsea: what do with Jadon Sancho…
Jadon Sancho has superb record against Chelsea
Signed on a season-long loan deal from Man United in September last year, Sancho arrived at Villa Park hoping to reignite his stagnating career.
The 25-year-old was once one of the most exciting talents in world football during his early years with Borussia Dortmund, where he scored 53 goals in 158 appearances.
A £73million move to Old Trafford followed in the summer of 2021, but since then, he’s largely underwhelmed in English football, and hasn’t reached the potential he so clearly possesses.
It’s been a similar story with Aston Villa this season too, with zero Premier League goals in 17 appearances, with the next steps in his career looking hugely uncertain.
The 23-cap England international was replaced on the hour mark against Wolves, as Emery continues to alternate him between a starting role and a place on the bench, with seven of his 17 league outings being as part of the starting XI.
However, Emery may want to consider starting him once again on Wednesday night, as the history books will tell him that Sancho doesn’t lose against Chelsea.
Indeed, in his four career appearances against his former side, all of which being in the Premier League, Sancho has won twice and drawn twice, losing none.
He’s also registered a goal and an assist across those four games, and so there is clearly something about playing against the Blues that Sancho seems to relish.
What is Aston Villa’s recent head to head record vs Chelsea?
Wednesday night is a must-win game for Aston Villa, as defeat would see Chelsea close the gap to them to three points, and depending on Liverpool’s result against Wolves on Tuesday, could see them drop to fifth.
The positive going into this one from a Villa perspective is that Emery’s side can surely only be better than their Wolves display, the question is, how much better?
Another thing going in the Villans’ favour is their recent form in this fixture, having won the last two league meetings against Chelsea, both by scores of 2-1.
Chelsea have only beaten Villa once in their last six Premier League clashes too, which came in a 3-0 victory on 1 December 2024.
So, the history books’ most recent pagers chaptering this historic Premier League rivalry certainly rule in favour of a positive result for Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.
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