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Sports Illustrated

Sport

James Cormack

Chelsea XI vs. Aston Villa: Neto Suspension Forces Tweak—Injury News, Predicted Lineup

Chelsea Liam Rosenior Villa Aston Villa Pedro Neto Marc Cucurella Arsenal Alejandro Garnacho Cole Palmer Estêvão

Chelsea are out to end a three-game winless slide in the Premier League on Wednesday night, and victory at Villa Park will certainly re-embolden their pursuit of a top-five finish.

Liam Rosenior is starting to encounter a few stumbling blocks at the helm in west London, and it won’t take much more for an already skeptical fanbase to turn on the relatively inexperienced manager. Should their malaise persist, Rosenior will soon begin to feel the heat from his own supporters.

They’re at least facing Aston Villa at a good time, with the Villans struggling in midfield and sliding their way into the scrap to play in next season’s Champions League. They’ve won just one of their previous five league outings, but have prevailed in back-to-back meetings against the west Londoners.

Chelsea’s Suspensions Rack Up

Pedro Neto was the latest to pick up an idiotic red card in Chelsea colors this season, as he received a second yellow card for a late lunge on Gabriel Martinelli in the Blues’ defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

He’ll serve a one-game suspension, with Alejandro Garnacho the most likely candidate to replace the Portuguese international, given that Estêvão is nursing a hamstring injury.

Wesley Fofana is eligible to return from his ban, but Mamadou Sarr’s assured showing on Sunday means Rosenior may opt against any changes to his defense.

Levi Colwill remains sidelined because of a long-term knee injury, while Marc Cucurella, Dário Essugo and Jamie Gittens are also set to miss the trip to Villa Park. Rosenior said ahead of the Arsenal game that he hopes to have Cucurella “back as quickly as possible,” but Wednesday’s fixture may arrive too soon.

⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Pedro Neto, Marc Cucurella, Estêvão, Levi Colwill, Dário Essugo, Jamie Gittens, Mykhailo Mudryk.
🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)

GK: Robert Sánchez—Sánchez is competent when he doesn’t play against Arsenal, so we can only expect the Spaniard to improve from Sunday’s game.

RB: Reece James—Rosenior must carefully manage his captain, who impressed at the Emirates. However, James is more likely to get a rest in the FA Cup fifth round, when Chelsea visit Wrexham.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah—The Englishman has been Chelsea’s standout center back this season, and there’s no reason why he should be dropped from the team on Wednesday.

CB: Mamadou Sarr—Fofana’s available again, but Rosenior should stick with Sarr. The former Strasbourg defender looked at ease in his first Premier League start.

LB: Jorrel Hato—Cucurella could be back in the mix soon, but Hato is likely to remain in Chelsea’s defense midweek. The Dutchman has had a tough start to life in west London, but he enters this game off the back of a stout showing up against Bukayo Saka.

DM: Moisés Caicedo—Chelsea’s tone-setter in midfield can occasionally go overboard, but Caicedo is obviously a net positive for Rosenior’s side. Villa’s verticality will test the Ecuadorian.

DM: Andrey Santos—Rosenior is a big fan of Andrey Santos, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Chelsea boss retain this midfield axis on Wednesday night, given Villa’s intent on penetrating the center of the field.

RW: Cole Palmer—Palmer’s positioning was an intriguing sub-plot of Sunday’s defeat, but the Englishman seemed shackled by the knocks he took in the first half. Still, those minor setbacks are unlikely to keep him out midweek.

AM: Enzo Fernández—The Argentine will be asked to combine between the lines with Palmer, having scored a fabulous goal on this ground in a FA Cup victory two years ago.

LW: Alejandro Garnacho—Neto’s suspension opens the door for Garnacho to come in, given the injuries sustained to Jamie Gittens and Estêvão in recent weeks. The winger almost restored parity late on for Chelsea at the Emirates with a cross that threatened David Raya’s back post.