Chelsea play hosts to Dean Smith’s Aston Villa outfit over the upcoming weekend with Premier League football set for a return to Stamford Bridge after the international break.
The Blues had turned out last time around at Anfield in a rather eventful 1-1 affair against Liverpool with the visitors being reduced to 10 men after Reece James was given the marching orders just before the half-time whistle for handling the ball on the line.
Come Saturday, Thomas Tuchel will back his players to do the job and claim the win against a Villa side that no longer possesses the talents of Jack Grealish in the final third of the pitch with the highly-rated England international making a big-money move to Manchester City in the summer transfer window.
However, even in the absence of the outgoing Grealish, Dean Smith has assembled an envious roster at Villa Park and the Midlanders will be looking to cause a major upset against a Chelsea side that is being reckoned as serious contenders for Premier League glory this season.
Chelsea have an unbeaten start to the new season and the supporters will back their side to keep up the momentum when playing on home turf against Aston Villa who were held by the league’s new boys Brentford in the outing just prior to the international break.
Tuchel’s men will relish moving up the standings with a win over Aston Villa which could pose to be a difficult task at hand should Chelsea’s star players in Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho fail to turn up at their very best.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Date – 11 September
Time – 2 PM GMT
Venue – Stamford Bridge
TEAM NEWS
Thomas Tuchel will have a major worry on his mind in the aftermath of the recent ruling by FIFA to block five Premier League clubs from using their Brazilian players over the upcoming weekend for Premier League action.
This means that the veteran central defender Thiago Silva could be sidelined from the fray for making it into the starting XI plans for Thomas Tuchel.
Romelu Lukaku had voiced slight concerns over a potential thigh injury during the international break but the Belgian is expected to feature against Villa and lead the line for Chelsea.
Reece James is ineligible to be drafted into the XI for the hosts after his red card against Liverpool last time around.
KEY BATTLE
Trevor Chalobah vs Danny Ings
The suspension of Reece James could force Tuchel into using his skipper Cesar Azpilicueta in the right wing-back role which opens the door for breakout star Trevor Chalobah to come in at the back.
You heard @TrevohChalobah – we working! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Dj9x3SsFqK
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 9, 2021
Chalobah had been handed a start on the opening day of the new season much to everyone’s surprise and the defender secured a goal on his debut outing.
Aston Villa’s new talisman Danny Ings will be the player to watch out for Thomas Tuchel and Co. with the summer arrival at Villa Park looking in great shape when going forward through on goal.
MATCH PREDICTION
We predict Chelsea to secure all three points from the Stamford Bridge showdown on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
