A mouth-watering showdown between Chelsea and Aston Villa takes centre stage at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
It’s been an unhappy period for Unai Emery’s men, who are winless in seven matches in all competitions, most recently drawing against Juventus in the Champions League.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are unbeaten in seven of their last eight games and were 2-1 victors over Leicester City last time out, moving them up to third in the table.
Currently, there are only three points from the third-place Blues separating Aston Villa in eighth position in the Premier League, with everything still to play for.
In their pre-match predictions, both Paul Merson and Chris Sutton have predicted Chelsea to beat Villa, and that is hardly surprising given the contrast in form.
Amadou Onana of Aston Villa looks on during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield on November 09, 2024 in Liv...
Photo by Aston Villa/Getty Images
Aston Villa team news ahead of Chelsea
Emery updated Aston Villa fans about the club’s injury problems ahead of the trip to Chelsea, and midfielder Jacob Ramsey was one of them.
Ramsey has been sidelined with a hamstring issue since the loss to Liverpool a few weeks ago and he’s missed clashes against Crystal Palace and Juventus as a result.
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The Spaniard confirmed the Chelsea fixture would come too soon for the 23-year-old, although he did provide a positive update on another first-team star.
Midfielder Amadou Onana could make the matchday squad this weekend but it depends on whether he can train the next two days.
Onana picked up an injury on Belgium duty and that ruled him out of the last two games, with Emery now hoping he’s available for Sunday.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Chelsea
Emi Martinez produced more heroics on Wednesday night as he kept another clean sheet in the Champions League.
Lucy Ward dubbed Martinez as ‘unbelievable’, with Villa now hoping for a similar performance in their visit to Chelsea.
There should be one change to the back four that started in midweek, as Ezri Konsa replaces the veteran Diego Carlos. Konsa will partner Pau Torres with Matty Cash and Lucas Digne as the full-backs.
Although Onana could be ready to start, the midfield speaks for itself. Boubacar Kamara will be looking to shut down Cole Palmer while Youri Tielemans pulls the strings.
Perhaps controversially, Emery could make one change to his attacking quartet this weekend, dropping Morgan Rogers out of the starting XI.
Villa fans were frustrated with Rogers performance against Juve, and the 22-year-old needs a rest after playing so much football recently.
Leon Bailey is fortunate to keep his place on the right after struggling of late while John McGinn starts on the left.
It means that the ‘special’ Jhon Duran should finally be unleashed for his first Premier League start this term alongside Ollie Watkins.
Duran has been chomping at the bit to start a game for months and now, he could finally get his chance against a club that wanted him in the summer.
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