Aston Villa will face off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as they look to pick up a positive result in the third round of the EFL Cup. The Villans managed to secure an impressive 3-0 win over Everton last weekend, which will keep them in high spirits ahead of this cup game.
Dean Smith will probably choose to go with the 4-2-3-1 formation and could make a lot of changes to his first XI in midweek. Bertrand Traore should be fit for a place on the right flank while we can expect Danny Ings to get a breather on the bench.
4-2-3-1 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Chelsea
Defence
Jed Steer will function as the Villans’ primary goalkeeper while Emiliano Martinez settles for a place on the bench. Axel Tuanzebe will feature alongside Kortney Hause at the heart of Smith’s defence as they look to maintain a solid defensive shape inside their half.
Matty Cash is a major doubt for this game as he picked up a knock recently. If the English talent can pass a late fitness test, he will operate at right-back following a wonderful goal-scoring performance versus the Toffees last weekend. Ashley Young will fill in on the other side as the left-back.
Ezri Konsa could offer cover for the centre-half position on the Villans bench.
Midfield
Marvelous Nakamba will play along with Morgan Sanson in central midfield as they both look to put in a hard-working display against the Blues in midweek. Anwar El Ghazi will play as the left-sided wide player while Bertrand Traore tries to get his name on the scoresheet from the right.
Emiliano Buendia would serve as the chief playmaker for Aston Villa and operate in the number ten position as a free-flowing attacking midfielder. He will be expected to engineer some clear-cut chances for Ollie Watkins up top.
Jacob Ramsey will be named on the bench and could come on to make an impact in the final quarter of the game if required.
Attack
Ollie Watkins will lead the line for the Villans in the attacking end of the field. The English marksman is still waiting to net his first goal of this campaign, so this EFL Cup game could be another good chance for him to get some confidence back by finding the back of the net.
As mentioned earlier, Danny Ings will be part of Smith’s bench this Wednesday as he waits for his opportunity to impress as a late-game substitute if needed.
