Can Aston Villa go five games unbeaten as they welcome Chelsea to Villa Park? Find out who is available for the clash and who Liam thinks will make the starting eleven…
ASTON VILLA TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey could return to the side this weekend. The Jamaican international missed The Villans’ trip to The City Ground on Monday night, but when Steven Gerrard was asked for an update on the forward’s fitness earlier this week, he said: “Hopefully. He was out on training pitch running at 70, 80 per cent yesterday so hopefully with no reaction we can push him and get him available.”
Aside from Bailey, there appear to be no fresh injury updates. There are four players who be side-lined for lengthier spells, namely Diego Carlos, Ludwig Augustinsson, Boubacar Kamara and Lucas Digne, but the Villa side seemingly came away unscathed from the trip to Nottingham earlier this week and the individuals that travelled should be in contention on Sunday.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
Chelsea’s star right-back Reece James is a doubt ahead of this weekend’s worth of action. The 24 year-old pulled up during The Blues’ midweek clash with AC Milan at the San Siro with a suspected knee injury. On Tuesday, Graham Potter said: βWe are hoping Reece will be okay [for the game at Villa Park].
Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech’s availability is also ‘up in the air approaching Sunday afternoon. The attacking midfielder was not a part of the squad that traveled to Italy earlier this week after Potter revealed that the former Ajax playmaker had been struggling with illness.
French duo N’Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana look set to miss the upcoming fixture. Kante returned to first-team training at the start of the month after recovering from a thigh injury but has since picked up a fresh concern. Fofana meanwhile, was withdrawn from Chelsea’s home game against AC Milan after sustaining a knee injury just before half-time.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Here is Liam’s predicted line-up for Sunday’s game – what changes would you make?
Select you own starting eleven using the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/
Be sure to share your attempt on Twitter too by clicking the icon in the corner.
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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