Aston Villa visit Chelsea chasing a club-record winning streak, while Morgan Rogers says this is the peak period of a career that is already driving the Premier League title race. Unai Emery’s team sit third, three points behind Arsenal and one behind Manchester City, and Villa have already defeated both rivals earlier in the campaign to strengthen belief.
Villa arrive at Stamford Bridge after 10 straight wins in all competitions and now stand one victory from matching the best run in the club’s history. That benchmark of 11 consecutive wins came in September 1897 and again in March 1914, so equalling it against Chelsea would carry clear weight for the current squad.
Rogers has been central to this surge, with 21 goals in all competitions since
the beginning of last season. At 23 years and 151 days on Christmas Eve, Rogers became the youngest player to reach 20 goals for a Premier League club during that period, underlining how quickly influence has grown within Emery’s developing attack.
Rogers feels individual progress mirrors Villa’s collective rise under Emery and speaks of a shared confidence. "I feel like I'm playing the best I've ever played," Rogers told Villa's website. "I'm the most confident but that's also within the team. The team is the most confident it has been since I've been here. "
Rogers believes strong team structure is lifting personal performance levels. "It's no surprise individual performances rise when we're doing well as a collective. We're all confident in each other, the manager's confident in us and we go out there and we feel like we're going to win every game. " Such momentum now faces examination from Chelsea’s defensive unit.
Chelsea expect a major creative boost of their own, with Enzo Maresca confirming Cole Palmer can finally handle a full match. Palmer has been restricted since suffering groin and toe problems, featuring in Chelsea’s last four Premier League fixtures without completing 90 minutes, but recovery appears complete as Villa’s in-form defence arrives in west London.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa Premier League tactical roles and probabilities
Maresca outlined Palmer’s return plan and believes match fitness is now at the required level. "I think he is ready for 90 minutes. The progression for a player is 45, one hour, then 70," Maresca told reporters on Wednesday. "He already played one hour against Everton. He played more than 70 against Newcastle, so I think the progression is there. "
Creativity will also be expected from Enzo Fernandez, who has supplied more chances from open play, with 24, than any other Chelsea player in the league this season. Fernandez also leads Chelsea for passes that break the opposition defensive line, with 17, and Chelsea will look to that range of passing to unlock a Villa team defending with strong structure.
No Chelsea player has scored more than five Premier League goals this season, with Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto sharing that internal lead. That statistic pushes extra responsibility onto creators such as Fernandez and Palmer, especially against a Villa side where Rogers has been directly involved in 10 league goals across the first 17 matchdays, scoring seven and assisting three.
Rogers could reach another milestone if scoring twice or more at Stamford Bridge. The forward would become only the third Aston Villa player to net at least two goals in three consecutive Premier League appearances, matching Dean Saunders’ feat in 1992 and Dion Dublin’s run in 1998, which would further anchor status among the club’s most effective modern forwards.
Villa’s current league streak stands at seven wins, and the club last produced a longer top-flight sequence between October and December 1910, when nine straight victories were recorded. Under Emery, Villa have also claimed 12 wins from 21 Premier League away games in London, drawing four and losing five, which already surpasses the 11 victories from their previous 59 such trips.
The recent head-to-head record in the Premier League also favours Emery’s side. Villa have won three of five meetings with Chelsea under the Spanish coach, drawing one and losing one, matching the three victories from the 20 league games against Chelsea before Emery’s arrival, when Villa’s record read D3 L14 and points were harder to secure.
Chelsea, however, have often delivered strong performances against teams above them in the standings this season. Maresca’s side remain unbeaten in three league games against such opponents, beating Liverpool 2-1 and Tottenham 1-0 while drawing 1-1 with Arsenal. That pattern offers encouragement as Chelsea face another high-ranking rival.
There is also pressure on Chelsea to protect home form under Maresca. Defeat to Villa would give Chelsea three home league losses this season, already more than across Maresca’s first full campaign in 2024-25, when the club’s Stamford Bridge record read 12 wins, five draws and two defeats, underlining how valuable a positive result would be here.
Analytical models still lean towards Chelsea for this fixture despite Villa’s run. The OPTA projection lists the expected outcome as CHELSEA WIN, with detailed probabilities set out below.
Off the pitch, the meeting also carries narrative focus, with Villa’s ambition to maintain title pressure set against Chelsea’s aim to stay consistent in high-profile clashes. Both teams bring influential creative players in Rogers and Palmer, and the contest at Stamford Bridge is likely to provide another clear measure of their respective seasons.
Back home for the visit of Villa in the #PL. pic.twitter.com/NnTEAZNDN0Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 24, 2025
