Aston Villa v ChelseaSaturday, July 30
Aston Villa v Chelsea
The Villains and Pensioners will contest for the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong. Aston Villa defeated fellow Premier League outfit, Blackburn Rovers, 1-0 , while Chelsea accounted for Hong Kong Champions, Kitchee FC, 4-0. In oppressive conditions, Darren Bent's strike in the opening stages following the break was enough to seal a hard fought win for Aston Villa. In a slightly more comfortable climate, goals from Lampard, Drogba and Sturridge (in addition to an own goal) ensured the Londoners' passage to the final.
Following a respectable finish of 9th in last season's campaign, Aston Villa have had a tough off-season with the sale of key players, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, and Brad Friedel. In coming, new manager Alex McLeish has signed Shay Given (from Manchester City), and Charles N'Zogbia (from Wigan Athletic). N'Zogbia has not made the trip to Asia so Villa is most likely to persevere with Heskey and Albrighton on the wings for this encounter. Unlike Aston Villa, Chelsea arrived in Asia several weeks ago and will play their fourth game in these parts following wins over Malaysia XI (1-0) and Thailand XI (4-0).
It is expected that Chelsea will be better acclimatized to the heat and humidity than their Premier League counterparts. Despite little resistance from Kitchee FC, Chelsea did look decidedly sharper than Aston Villa in their respective match against Blackburn. Andre Villas-Boas has already stated that Petr Cech will play the full game with Torres and Sturridge likely to start up front. McLeish is likely to give Stephen Ireland a starting birth following his sufficient recovery from a hamstring strain, while Albrighton is also expected to start.
Pick: Chelsea -0.75ah @1.78 (pinnacle, 10 units)
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Chelsea
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