Aston Villa will entertain Chelsea at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon after securing a fortunate goalless draw versus Sheffield United in midweek. The Villans are still in the dreaded drop zone, so they have no choice but to go all out for a positive outcome this weekend. However, it won’t be an easy match for the West Midlands outfit as Frank Lampard will demand his players to secure a convincing victory so that the Blues can consolidate their position in the top four.
Dean Smith will set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation with Pepe Reina getting the nod ahead of Ørjan Nyland to start in goal for the home team.
4-3-3 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Chelsea
Defence
Pepe Reina might get a chance to replace Nyland in goal following the Norwegian’s lacklustre display versus the Blades on Wednesday afternoon. Tyrone Mings could partner Bjorn Engels at the centre of the Villa defence, but they will have their hands full while up against the towering presence of Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham this weekend.
Ahmed Elmohamady could replace Ezri Konsa in the right-back position while Matt Targett hopes to impress on the other side as the left-back. Kortney Hause might be named on the bench after playing the whole 90 minutes versus the Blades in midweek.
Midfield
Smith could decide to go with a midfield three of Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba and Conor Hourihane as he looks to bulk his team up with defensive-minded players at the centre of the park. The trio will have to work hard to stop the Chelsea players from dominating the ball in midfield.
John McGinn has got a lot of minutes under his belt on Wednesday, so he might have to settle for a spot on the bench when the Blues visit Villa Park this weekend.
Attack
Jack Grealish will once again be Villa’s best hope for a goal down the left flank. Trezeguet might get a rare start as the right-winger following Anwar El Ghazi’s underwhelming performance in midweek. Keinan Davis will retain his role as a centre-forward down the middle as he looks to make the headlines by scoring a goal or two versus Chelsea.
It won’t be an easy task for the home side to break the opposition defence down. However, with Mbwana Samatta on the bench, they will at least have a shot to roll the dice in the second half in search of a favourable result on Sunday.
