Enzo Fernandez will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways when they host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. Enzo Maresca has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Estevao Willian (muscular) and Liam Delap (shoulder) are fit and available to take on Aston Villa this weekend. Additionally, Jamie Gittens is back after recovering from a minor shoulder issue. So, only four first-team players remain in the treatment room, with Jorrel Hato (knock) only a short-term absentee.
Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo (thigh), and Romeo Lavia (hamstring) are also unavailable, and the trio will remain in the treatment room for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided fitness updates on Delap and Estevao. The Italian tactician also discussed some positive news about Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea manager said, “Estevao is back and he is available for Saturday. Estevao and also Liam Delap. They are both back. We didn’t know exactly how long Liam would be out for but he is back on Saturday, and we are happy to have both available.”
“I think Cole is ready to play 90 minutes, yes. He played for an hour against Everton, then he did more than 70 minutes against Newcastle. So I think the progression is there, he’s feeling good and I think he could play for 90 minutes now.”
Meanwhile, during his presser, Maresca also provided fitness updates on Gittens and Hato while discussing possible rotations. The Chelsea boss said, “Jamie was not in the squad [vs Newcastle] because the day before, in the final training session, he had a problem in his shoulder. He is back now though and is okay for Villa. Hato suffered an injury during the warm-up against Newcastle, at half-time. He is out for tomorrow’s game.”
“I think this [rotation] will be very important. We have 11 games until the end of January but then in February, we will have another eight or nine games. So, it’s how we arrive in March, April in terms of energy, rotation, that will be very important. I already showed that we rotate players and for sure, now, with the number of games we have, we need to do that.”
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Aston Villa on Saturday. The backline will feature Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in the double pivot. Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho being the two wide attackers. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the home side against Aston Villa. So, Liam Delap, Estevao, and Gittens will be backup options on the bench.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Garnacho; Joao Pedro
