Chelsea will be out to end their winless streak in the Barclays Premiership when they host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues have failed to collect maximum points in their last three matches against Wigan Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, with all three games ending in 1-1 draws.
Andre Villas-Boas’ men are currently in 4th place on the log but have fallen 11 points behind Manchester City and Manchester United who are currently leading the pack.
However, they stand a good chance of ending the year with a win over a struggling Aston Villa side that have only won one of their last seven games, and are currently sitting in 12th place.
The Villans will be hoping to return to winning ways following their two consecutive losses against Liverpool and Arsenal, and the goalless draw against Stoke City.
With Fernando Torres battling in front of goals, Chelsea will be hoping that the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata will continue to score crucial goals, while Frank Lampard will be looking to score against Villa for a third game in a row.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech has been guilty of conceding soft goals in recent weeks and he will want to keep a clean sheet to give his side a chance of collecting maximum points, while John Terry will be expected to marshal the defence.
Alex McLeish on the other hand will be counting on forward Gabriel Agbonlahor to add to his tally of five league goals while hoping that his other striker Darren Bent will pass a late fitness test for the trip to the Bridge.
Emile Heskey sustained an injury to his Achilles during the game against Stoke and will not be available for the last fixture of the year.
Last season this fixture ended in an entertaining 3-3 draw with Ciaran Clark scoring an injury time equalizer for Aston Villa.