Chelsea coach, Frank Lampard has indicated about considering putting the unused players in the starting XI against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Chelsea lost to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in a 3-1 scoreline on Boxing Day at the Emirates Stadium, having just returned to the winning ways after two consecutive losses. Lampard remarked the first half play of his team as the worst performance in this season by his players.
He lashed out after the match and criticized the lazy nature of the first team players. Lampard also pointed out that there will be consequences for the poor attitude but he team players as he will bench several first-team players in the Aston Villa match.
‘There will be some changes,’ Lampard said as per the Official Chelsea website.
‘I knew that anyway and I am certainly not going to bang the drum about the quick turnaround [between the games] after our performance at Arsenal, it is not the important point, but playing two days later we have to make changes anyway and some of those will now happen as well because of how that game went.
‘People have to come in and inject the energy and personality that is in our performances normally. The reason we went so many games unbeaten was because of that, and we have come off that, and we have to get back on it quickly.
‘Some of it is because of where we maybe are as a squad. People wanted to talk us up as title contenders, I never accepted that was the case because we are not there, that takes time to build.
‘Games like the Arsenal one are certainly ones we have to learn a very big lesson from – everybody, myself included – because when I see that in the first half I don’t like it. I don’t like it so it can’t happen.’
Chelsea will have to fight hard to earn three points which they must need against Dean Smith’s team who are above the Blues in the Premier League table. Aston Villa sits higher than Chelsea and if any results happen any other than their defeat, the deposition will not change at all.
Chelsea will have their Moroccan attacking winger sidelined due to the recovery from his injury while Callum Hudson Odoi may return to the first XI. Chelsea got just 48 hours to recover from the Arenal match before they play Villa today.
