Aston Villa are in big problem as their charismatic coach Steven Gerrard would not be anywhere close to the touchline when Chelsea visit Villa Park later tonight, December 26, 2021.
Gerrard was expected to lead Aston Villa to face Chelsea on Boxing Day but the English tactician tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the game.
This means that he has to self-isolate for at least 10 days or until he tests negative for the virus before he can resume work on the touchline.
Hence, Steven Gerrard would not only miss the Premier League game between his team and Chelsea, but he also would not be available for the league game between his team and Leeds United on December 28.
The absence of Gerrard on the touchline could be a big blow for Aston Villa especially against coach Thomas Tuchel’s led Chelsea. His presence in the team has helped the club to move up on the Premier League table. They are currently sitting on the 10th spot on the league table with 22 points in 17 games.
Chelsea will see the absence of Gerrard in Villa’s team tonight as an added advantage as the London-based club continue to push for the Premier League title.
A statement from Aston Villa read: “Aston Villa can confirm head coach Steven Gerrard will be unable to attend our next two Premier League matches with Chelsea and Leeds United as he will be isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.”
Aston Villa can confirm Head Coach Steven Gerrard will be unable to attend our next two Premier League matches with Chelsea and Leeds United as he will be isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 25, 2021
The club’s announcement that coach Steven Gerrard had tested positive for coronavirus came after the club’s league game against Burnley was postponed last weekend due to the high number of confirmed coronavirus infections at Villa Park.
Aston Villa’s opponents on Tuesday, Leeds United are not playing on Boxing Day because of the high number of injured players and coronavirus infections at the club. They were supposed to play against Liverpool later tonight.
Hence, there is a possibility that Aston Villa’s journey to Leeds United two days from now might not happen due to the outbreak of the virus at Leeds.
As it stands, three Boxing Day Premier League fixtures have been postponed so far which are: Liverpool vs Leeds United, Wolves vs Watford, and Burnley vs Everton.
The Boxing Day Premier League fixtures that have not been postponed include:
- Manchester City vs Leicester City scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
- Norwich City vs Arsenal is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
- West Ham United vs Southampton is scheduled to kick off at 16:00.
- Aston Villa vs Chelsea is scheduled to kick off at 18:30.
- Brighton vs Brentford is scheduled to kick off at 21:00.
