How Chelsea could line up against Aston Villa

12:21pm on Sunday 27th December 2020
By Team FC

Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways against Aston Villa on Monday after a miserable recent run of form that culminated in a 3-1 defeat to London rivals Arsenal on Boxing Day.

The Blues have now lost three of their last four Premier League matches, and their title challenge is at risk of falling apart if they don't get back on track fast.

Under-fire manager Frank Lampard is set to make numerous changes to the team who lost at Arsenal given the fact the team will only have 48 hours rest before facing Villa.

Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy will retain his place but it's possible that Chelsea will field an entire new back four. Full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell were both struggling with their fitness before the Arsenal match so may be replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta and Emerson, respectively.

The 36-year-old Thiago Silva should be given a breather, while Kurt Zouma could be rested too in favour of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.

In midfield, the only player guaranteed a starting shirt is N'Golo Kane. Jorginho should come in as the deep-lying playmaker despite his penalty miss versus Arsenal. Kai Havertz may also be given another chance to shine, despite his miserable start to the season.

In attack, Olivier Giroud will replace Tammy Abraham while Lampard as good as confirmed that Callum Hudson-Odoi will also start. On the other wing, Christian Pulisic or Timo Werner may be retained. Hakim Ziyech is back in contention but will likely start from the bench.