How Chelsea could line up against Aston Villa

By Ben Knapton | 26 Dec 2020 20:27, Last updated: 04 Jun 2025 23:30

Chelsea will be desperate to quickly recover from their chastening defeat at Arsenal when they welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge for Monday's Premier League showdown.

The Blues were simply outclassed by an Arsenal side languishing in the bottom half of the table, with Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka all on target while Tammy Abraham netted a late consolation for Chelsea.

Frank Lampard's men missed the chance to go second with that defeat to their London rivals, but on the other hand, Aston Villa eased to a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace despite playing the entire second half with 10 men.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Chelsea could line up for the visit of Villa.

Doubtful: Hakim Ziyech (hamstring) Both teams only have 48 hours to recover from their Boxing Day fixtures, and Lampard will certainly look to rotate after a performance which he claimed was simply "not good enough" against Arsenal. Reece James and Ben Chilwell both passed late fitness tests to start at the Emirates, but Cesar Azpilicueta and Emerson Palmieri may be called upon for this one as Lampard hopes to avoid any more injury problems for his two first-choice left-backs. Hakim Ziyech was ruled out of the trip to Arsenal, and while the former Ajax winger is edging closer to a comeback, it would be a surprise to see Ziyech make the starting lineup here. As a result, Christian Pulisic - who was bright on Boxing Day - should start again on Monday, but on the opposite flank, Callum Hudson-Odoi could be promoted to the first XI after Timo Werner struggled to make an impact in North London. Olivier Giroud was left on the bench against his former club but could feature from the off here if Tammy Abraham is granted a rest, with the 34-year-old hoping to rediscover his goalscoring touch as soon as possible. N'Golo Kante is expected to keep his spot in midfield, while Kai Havertz could potentially replace Mason Mount in Lampard's engine room. Jorginho missed a late penalty against the Gunners, but the Italian is also a possible starter given the quick turnaround in fixtures.