English Premier League Week 8: Chelsea Without Didier Drogba, Yet Aston Villa Still Nervous

Chelsea are still sitting pretty at the top of the EPL, four points above Manchester City and their only loss having come at the hands (feet?) of their nearest rivals. The Blues have showed little weakness in their first seven matches. The little hope that Aston Villa might cling to would be the fact that Didier Drogba is out with a fever-except the last time the Villa faced a lineup absent Drogba, Chelsea won 7-1. While Chelsea don't have the most impressive record at Villa Park, the home side might be without a striker, as Gabriel Agbonlahor is recovering from groin surgery, Emile Heskey is facing a late fitness test, and John Carew is essentially useless. Ashley Young has been playing well in the hole, but even the England international is unlikely to create miracles against the league leaders.

Key Battle: Marc Albrighton v Ashley Cole. While Albrighton has a bright future on the wing, he's not quite there yet. The young Villan is often absent for the second half of the match, and if he's not able to distract Cole, the Chelsea defender will get forward and cause havoc. With Cole moving forward, it's a likely possibility that Florent Malouda will be left unmarked-and a free Malouda could be devastating for Aston Villa.

Battle Within The Battle: There is no player in the Premier League that can match the might of Malouda's hair. For the match against Wigan, the Chelsea midfielder wove a Tetris game through his lovely locks. It's not possible for the Villa to compete with that, so they simply shave their heads. Unfortunately, they can't even win this head-to-head matchup, as Brad Friedel's shiny white dome cannot triumph over the polished sheen radiating from Nicholas Anelka.