Win to avoid 'side effect'

LONDON • Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel wants his side to secure Champions League qualification in their final Premier League game against Aston Villa today, to avoid added pressure going into the European final on Saturday.

Third-placed Chelsea are a point above Liverpool and Leicester City - both have 66 points - going into today's final games. A win at Villa Park will guarantee the Blues a top-four finish before the Champions League final against Manchester City in Porto.

However, a fifth-placed finish will see Tuchel's men drop down to the Europa League unless they beat City in the final to qualify for Europe's top-tier club competition.

"We will play 100 per cent, no matter what, to win," Tuchel said on Friday. "The side effect could be a crucial one and we don't want to play this final to (qualify for) the Champions League.

"We put in so much hard work and quality into the last months, so we want to finish the game on Sunday."

Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard midway through the season, said the top four was their main target and a hectic schedule made it only harder for them to achieve that goal.

"It was a complicated situation to reach the (FA Cup) final, go back to top-four race, then a semi-final in the Champions League," he added.

"There are so many competitions and so many levels in these competitions. So it demanded a lot of different levels of concentration for us. It's what we worked for and it's still in our hands."

Tuchel said N'Golo Kante and Kai Havertz could feature against Villa subject to a late fitness test while centre back Andreas Christensen, who missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, is back in the squad.

Lampard, who was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame on Wednesday in recognition of his three league titles as a Chelsea player, believes he built the platform for Tuchel to succeed at Stamford Bridge.

The 42-year-old, Chelsea's all-time top scorer, was sacked in January with the Blues languishing ninth in the Premier League.

"I come away with an overall feeling of pride in what I did in the job. I wanted to stay longer, I wanted real tangible success which, at Chelsea, is winning Cups and winning leagues, but it didn't happen," he told The Telegraph.

Goals conceded by Chelsea during their 12-match unbeaten away streak in all competitions (W9, D3) under Thomas Tuchel.

"Hopefully, from where I took over the job, I've laid down strong foundations for the future and in the context of where I wanted my managerial career to go, it was an amazing experience."

Villa boss Dean Smith, whose side are in 11th place, has said that his players will go "hell for leather" for a win that could cost Chelsea - who are unbeaten away since Tuchel took charge - a place in next season's Champions League .

"He's had a great start. They qualified for the FA Cup final, Champions League final and now they're trying to qualify for the Champions League," Smith said.

"He's come in and done exactly what he's been asked to do so far. Now it's our job to put an end to their away record. We'll be going hell for leather to try and do that."

Villa enjoyed an impressive 2-1 win at Tottenham on Wednesday, a game in which midfield playmaker Jack Grealish made his first start for three months after injury.

"He's getting up to full fitness, he showed a real confidence in his performance at Tottenham and hopefully we will see more of that on Sunday," Smith added.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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ASTON VILLA V CHELSEA

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