Following their 3-2 defeat against Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, Aston Villa return to Premier League action with a visit to Chelsea this afternoon.
The Villans responded to a 3-0 defeat at Anfield by dispatching Crystal Palace 3-1 in remarkable fashion.
It looked for the most part of the second half that Odsonne Edouard’s goal would be the match-winner for Palace, however, Villa scored an equaliser three minutes from time through Jhon Duran, followed by two painfully late goals from Douglas Luiz and substitute Leon Bailey in the 98th and 101st minute, condemning the Eagles to a 3-1 loss.
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With the aim of carrying this late momentum onto the turf at Stamford Bridge, Unai Emery’s side have the opportunity to inflict further misery on Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine has only overseen one victory since taking charge of the club – a 3-1 win over Luton Town – and with increasing pressure being applied onto him due to his sides’ underperformance, the Blues will see this fixture as a must-win, regardless of the threat Villa pose.
Emery will be desperate to get one over on Pochettino and could make a few tweaks to his squad to give himself the best possible chance.
Aston Villa have been hit with some huge injury blows at the start of this season. In their 5-1 defeat against Newcastle, influential centre-back Tyrone Mings was stretchered off after suffering a signifcant knee injury and was later dealt the news that he would be out for the rest of the campaign.
He isn’t the only key player undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation process. Emiliano Buendia sustained a serious knee ligament injury in training, leaving the attacking midfielder sidelined till June at the earliest.
In other injury news, Jacob Ramsey returned from his broken foot and was named as a substitute on Thursday night while left-back Alex Moreno has been an unused substitute in the past two matches since returning from a hamstring injury.
While Emery has been dealt with a difficult hand when it comes to defensive injuries, aside from Buendia, his attack has remained relatively unscathed, providing the Spaniard with a selection headache and the opportunity to experiment with various team selections.
Leon Bailey is one player who has been shuffled in and out of the starting XI in the early stages of this campaign, but after starring off the bench against Palace and impressing on Thursday night, the winger could be in line to start against Chelsea.
Such is the quality and depth of Emery’s front line, he’d almost certainly like an extra spot to fit all of his attacking talent in.