From Benfica to Birmingham - the games keep coming thick and fast and so do the in-depth previews by club historian Rick Glanvill, club statistician Paul Dutton and former player Clive Walker.

The heroics of the lion-shirted Blues in Lisbon must swiftly be summoned again if Chelsea are to challenge again for a place in next year's Champions League. Villa Park has often bucked the trend of form between the two sides: Roberto Di Matteo's team arrive having won just six times there in 19 Premier League visits. Also Chelsea have played 14 games more than Aston Villa this season.

The Villans also flattened the New Year's Eve champagne when they surprisingly won 3-1 with two late goals at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be hoping that the 1-0 win over Benfica will at least put some fizz back in their performance against the troubled Midlands club.

It was gaping holes at the back that presented Villa with their victory back in December. On Tuesday night, though, the revived Londoners again showed a stoical determination not to concede. That resulted in Benfica being prevented from scoring at Estádio da Luz for the first time in 66 matches. Those were not the kind of statistics being thrown up around New Year.

Beyond the crucial defensive interventions, there were other positive signs for the remainder of this three-lane campaign, including the efficient conversion of chances created. Chelsea had three shots on target and scored one goal.

The excellent result in Lisbon was another notch on the short managerial stick of Roberto Di Matteo who played in Chelsea's ground-out win over this weekend's hosts in the 2000 FA Cup final. The Italian midfielder even scored his customary goal at Wembley.

That stadium, which we visit again shortly albeit in rebuilt form, certainly holds better memories than Villa Park, where one win in 12 league visits is the dismal record. Di Matteo missed the 3-0 win in March 1999 that preceded that sequence; his assistant now, Eddie Newton, was an unused substitute.

The only win since - Guus Hiddink's first league match in February 2009 - was earned by a Nicolas Anelka strike.

Since their success at the Bridge Villa have stumbled, winning just two of their ten Premier League matches. Andi Weimann's stoppage time goal against our west London neighbours Fulham is their only home winner since the fireworks fizzled out on 5 November. Five of their last eight games at Villa Park have ended in defeat.

While Villa appear beyond the threat of relegation, Chelsea desperately need three points to maintain a challenge in the league.

Realistically there are now four teams in with a chance of filling the third and fourth Champions League spaces. Each has eight games to play, four home, four away. That is 24 points, and the gap between the current third and sixth place is eight points.


- Match preview by chelseafc.com