Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Three things to look for in Premier League return

Chelsea faces a bogey team of sorts in Aston Villa in a bid to continue its title push after the little dent against Liverpool. Unfortunately, the change of manager last season did not affect the result against Aston Villa positively, drawing the Villains 1-1 under Frank Lampard and then losing 2-1 under Thomas Tuchel on Championship Sunday. The Blues have only played three games so far this season, but there are already some recognizable features about their play, despite many of the preferred XI not being fit yet. Tuchel has deployed a formation and playing style that allows him to switch pieces in and out of the team and still not drop the overall output. Chelsea has retained its defensive solidity from last season, conceding just one big chance in its first two games, though conceding three non-penalty big chances alone in the third game against Liverpool.

Tuchel wants to set things right as he welcomes Dean Smith’s Villains to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but what should Blues’ fans be observing when their team plays its second home game of the season?

1. Decision making in the final third

This is a problem that plagued this young, extremely talented group almost throughout the 2019/20 and the ’20/21 league seasons. The issue of poor decision making in front of goal seemed to be improving at certain points last season—especially toward the end—but then still showed up again in key games. The Champions League semifinal first leg against Real Madrid was one example in which Chelsea’s attackers’ and midfielders’ decision making was lacking. It reared its head again in the worst way against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago.

The Blues control a lot of possession but unfortunately they don’t create nearly enough clear-cut chances for a team that commands as much of the ball as they do per game. There are many ways to create several clear cut chances per game, one way is to just have a player who is one of the best at chance creation—someone like Kevin De Bruyne. The other way is to make the right passes at the right time in the middle and final third to catch the opposing defense out.

Manchester City has created 13 clear-cut chances in three games, Liverpool has created 12. Chelsea? Six. The Blues created one clear-cut chance against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season and created five against a non-existent Arsenal defense. Their low number of big chances against Crystal Palace is worrying, but the zero clear-cut chances created in 90 minutes against Liverpool is even more worrying. Chelsea was one pass away from a clear-cut chance created at several points in the game.

Yes, it is early in the season, but this problem has dragged on from last season. It needs to be solved urgently if the Blues are to compete with the two teams to beat in the Premier League. There’s a misconception that Tuchel needs to move to a two-centerback formation to improve the final third play, this is false. The Blues get opportunities to create very good goal scoring chances in the final third, they just often pick the wrong option.