Michael Owen makes bold prediction for Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Michael Owen has predicted Chelsea will seal a top four place with a win at Aston Villa tonight. The former Liverpool forward believes Thomas Tuchel's side have it in them to pick up the three points.
Chelsea, Leicester City and Liverpool are fighting for a place in the top four on the final day of the Premier League season. The Blues are third right now with 67 points, while the Reds and Foxes are a point behind in fourth and fifth, respectively.
While making his weekly Premier League predictions, Michael Owen backed Chelsea to win at Aston Villa.
The former Liverpool striker claims the Blues will manage to pull it off despite having a couple of poor results lately. He told BetVictor:
"Despite having a couple of poor results in recent weeks, Chelsea must be happy with their campaign overall, especially the second half. Blues' fans have a UEFA Champions League final to look forward to next week, however, before then they must win here to be certain of their position in the Champions League. As I said, their form of late has slipped slightly, however, if they turn up at their best, I think they'll win this one."
Playing without Chelsea fans is a disadvantage: Tuchel
Chelsea play away from home tonight as they travel to face Aston Villa. The other two sides in the top four race play at home, and Thomas Tuchel has admitted it is a bit of a disadvantage. He was quoted by Sky Sports as saying:
"In terms of fans, they clearly have. In terms of points, I think they would like to change with us. They [Aston Villa supporters] will not be fans for us and they will have the effect for their side. It's an advantage. It makes things absolutely more difficult, no doubt about it. But it's so much nicer and such a different game to play with spectators. We know it increases the challenge and increases the adversity, but we are here to step up."
Chelsea need to match the result of Liverpool or Leicester to qualify for the Champions League.
However, if they finish fifth tonight, they will have another chance of qualifying. The Blues will need to beat Manchester City in the Champions League final next Saturday to make it to the premier European competition next season.