Aston Villa gift Chelsea major advantage as Unai Emery reveals game plan with five decisions
Chelsea have been handed a huge boost ahead of their clash against Aston Villa at the weekend. Mauricio Pochettino will welcome Unai Emery to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, with the home side eager to return to winning ways and climb the Premier League table.
The Blues head into the tie following a goalless draw with Bournemouth. After losing to Nottingham Forest just before the international break, Pochettino was desperate to bounce back against the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium but his side just couldn't find the net.
While Villa may have secured all three-points against Crystal Palace in the English top-flight last weekend, they began their Europa League campaign rather miserably losing 3-2 to Legia Warszawa on Thursday evening. With just two days rest before the Chelsea meeting, Emery made five changes to his starting lineup.
Matty Cash and Pau Torres were dropped to the bench with Calum Chambers and Clement Lenglet taking their places in the backline. Youri Tielemans, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran were also given the nod, replacing Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins who resided on the bench.
However, the Villa boss' masterplan to rest his big hitters for the Blues trip didn't quite go to plan. After Legia Warszawa scored their third and final goal shortly after the break, Emery's side were chasing the game in the second-half but they couldn't find an equaliser.
Luiz, Watkins and Diaby replaced Kamara, Duran and McGinn at the hour-mark. Then, just moments later, Cash and Jacob Ramsey were brought on for Chamber and Zaniolo.
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