Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways when they lock horns with Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday night. Liam Rosenior has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Pedro Neto is the latest absentee after being sent off in the Premier League clash with Arsenal this past weekend. However, Wesley Fofana is available after serving a suspension in that game. Meanwhile, Levi Colwill (knee), Marc Cucurella (thigh), Dario Essugo (match fitness), Jamie Gittens (hamstring), and Estevao Willian (thigh) remain in the treatment room.
Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk is unavailable after failing a doping test several months ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Rosenior provided fitness updates on Cole Palmer, Reece James, Cucurella, Gittens, and Estevao.
The Chelsea head coach said, “Cole took a knock [vs Arsenal] but he’s absolutely fine. He’s looking really good, and I think you can see how we’ve managed him in recent weeks. He played 83 minutes [on Sunday] and it was tactical decision to take him and Enzo [Fernandez] off, because they were on yellow cards and I wanted to get some fresh energy on in Garna [Garnacho] and Liam [Delap].”
“So yes, Cole’s absolutely fine to start the game on Wednesday and Reece [James] is also fine. Cucu is looking really good, and hopefully we can get him back involved if not on Wednesday, then on Saturday [vs Wrexham]. That is great for us with the schedule that we have coming up.”
“Estevao is back on the pitch running, which is great and he’s doing really well. Jamie Gittens is also progressing well with his rehab. It was brilliant to have Romeo [Lavia] get his first minutes in a long time [on Sunday]. I felt he looked really strong [against Arsenal]. I think he is close to starting. We have managed him in a different way in terms of rehab, and hopefully, now that he is back fit, he stays fit.”
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Aston Villa on Wednesday. The backline will feature Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, and Jorrel Hato.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the away side against Aston Villa, with Alejandro Garnacho and Cole Palmer completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Hato; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Garnacho; Pedro
