Aston Villa host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Our pursuit of Champions League qualification resumes this weekend, as a win here would open up a nine-point lead over Tottenham, albeit our rivals for fourth place would have three games in hand.
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Nevertheless, Emery and the players will no doubt be happier with the points on the board and the all-important advantage in the standings, and so they should come into this fixture laser-focused and recharged after a rare break this past week.
After impressive wins against Arsenal and Bournemouth, coupled with our progress in the Europa Conference League to reach the last four, confidence levels should also be high as we enter the final month of the campaign.
Although the Villa boss confirmed that neither Alex Moreno nor Nicolo Zaniolo had recovered in time to feature in this clash, while long-term absentees Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey remain sidelined, the expectation was that we would still field a strong XI with important options on the bench.
As per the club’s tweet below, there’s just one change from Emery as Douglas Luiz returns from suspension and is restored to the Villa midfield, but it remains to be seen if it’s John McGinn or Youri Tielemans who will partner him, and who will be deployed in the advanced role.
Emiliano Martinez continues between the posts with a back-four formed by Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne, while Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers complete the midfield. As always, it’s Ollie Watkins who leads the Villa line.
The Luiz switch aside, it’s the same Villa line-up that defeated Bournemouth, with Diego Carlos having to settle for a place on the bench again, but it’s hoped that we can secure three vital points with another big shift this weekend to move us closer to securing a top-four finish.
Your Aston Villa team tonight! 👊 pic.twitter.com/Wx0Im4t95h
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 27, 2024
