Chelsea travels to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa in a Saturday morning matchup that they hope will help secure a place in the Champion Leagues next season.
A 2-2 draw to the Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday kept Chelsea three points ahead of their London rivals with only two Premier League games left to play, according to the Associated Press.
"I think it has been important for us, to keep everyone on their toes and ready to play, so it's been positive in the end," Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez said on Thursday. "All the games are important but the main one will be Aston Villa.
It was a pity last night [drawing against Tottenham] because I felt we could win the game, but we will have to do it now against Villa and try to get in the top three. We know it's really important but at the same time we know we have to win one game. If we can win against Villa it will be easier to approach the final with confidence."
Villa could prove to be a challenge for Chelsea and their hope of climbing into the top three. Villa has won three of their last five games. The club will try to close the season out strong for captain Stiliyan Petrov, who on Thursday announced his retirement from football to continue his fight against leukaemia.
Petrov will lead Villa in their traditional post-match "lap of appreciation" in the club's final home game of the season on Friday.
Chelsea destroyed Villa in an 8-0 rout the last time the clubs played each other. Villa has won only one game in their last seven matchups with Chelsea.
Frank Lampard leads Chelsea against Villa on Saturday at 7:45 a.m. ET.
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