The English Premier League season continues to heat up, and this weekend's schedule is loaded with high profile matches from top to bottom. But there's no bigger match out there than the battle between league leader Chelsea and emerging powerhouse Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Coming off a 1-1 draw against Manchester City last Sunday, Chelsea will try to get back into the winning column on Saturday against an Aston Villa squad that has been surprising a lot of people this early in the season.
While Chelsea was expected to be dominant from the get-go because of star-studded acquisitions of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, Aston Villa boasts a 3-1-1 slate by grinding out wins against Stoke City, Hull City and Liverpool.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has high hopes his team can sustain their run and continue to win games even against elite competitions like Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea.
"Any given day you can beat anyone. It's over the course of the season that people may say 38 games is a big ask. We will go down there and give it a go. We we will have our tactics but I will hope our players can carry it out.
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho looks to move on from his heated exchange of words with Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, adding he wants to focus on each game.
"He plays and he starts the game without problems," Mourinho told "The question is always the same: can he finish the game and be in conditions to play in Lisbon 48 hours later? It's a question that in this moment I don't know.
"In this moment I don't think about Sporting or the Champions League, I think about Aston Villa in the Premier League. He starts the game."
Live Stream and Premier League Scores & Updates
Chelsea vs. Aston Villa kicks off at 10:00 a.m EST at Stamford Bridge. Live stream of the match is available on Sports Stream, while scores and updates of every EPL Games are available on ESPN FC.
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