Aston Villa face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday evening, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the clash.
Injuries continue to plague us this season with Pau Torres, Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana all ruled out for this encounter, while both Ezri Konsa and Leon Bailey faced late fitness tests to determine their availability.
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Fortunately, Villa and Emery have built a strong squad with depth over the past two years and we have quality and experience across the board, but that will certainly continue to be tested against top sides like Chelsea in the midst of a packed and challenging schedule.
It’s hoped that we can take confidence and momentum from our midweek draw with Liverpool having stepped up our level of performance against the league leaders, while Emery will naturally be hopeful of welcoming key individuals back from this weekend onwards to bolster his options.
As per the club’s post below, Villa have made four changes to the side that started against Liverpool, with Konsa, Matty Cash, Ian Maatsen and Jacob Ramsey coming in to replace Axel Disasi, Andres Garcia, Lucas Digne and Marcus Rashford.
There’s a boost on the bench too with Bailey returning, and so we’ll have quality available to come on and change the game if needed with Rashford and Donyell Malen also available.
The big news though is getting Konsa back as we look to shore things up defensively having been far too porous this season, and hopefully with his partnership with Tyrone Mings restored, we’ll get back to building a strong foundation.
Further, the changes in the full-back positions would suggest that we’ll give Maatsen the license to push forward and give us width down the left flank, with Cash tucking inside to join Konsa and Mings as our defensive three in possession.
It promises to be a fascinating encounter, and it’s hoped that we have a balanced side capable of getting the job done and securing all three points.
Our starting XI to face Chelsea 👊 #AVLCHE pic.twitter.com/aWSxgyDA4k
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 22, 2025
