Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been restricted to a handful of players ahead of the game against Aston with 12 injured including Raheem Sterling and summer signing Christopher Nkunku who is yet to kick a ball in the last three months.
The injury situation at the club has been insistent so much that the Chelsea manager has always had at least eight out on a match day. It's been so much that Pochettino claimed recently that it was a good thing that they were not in Europe earlier in the season.
Normally when you lose so many players during critical times in the season, it’s just impossible to find any rhythm and consistency and that has been shown throughout the campaign, but the good news is that they are still in with a chance to secure some form of European football next season.
A win today will see them jump ahead of West Ham United in eighth in the league table, and close the gap on seventh-placed Newcastle United going into the final matches of the season.
The coming weeks are pivotal for the Blues with Tottenham coming to Stamford Bridge with Champions League ambitions. There are rumours around the manager’s long-term future at the club and you’ll expect that those talks will increase if they do not improve their output at Villa Park tonight.
So to try and get the result and shut out the noise, this is the team manager Mauricio Pochettino has put out for the all-important Premier League game tonight in the midlands.
1. Djordje Petrovic
His positioning on the first Arsenal goal was questionable, But he's been Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper due to his form earlier in the season and partly due to injury to Sanchez
2. Trevoh Chalobah
Another player who is playing well having battled injuries at the start of the season. Has been pivotal recently.
3. Marc Cucurella
Marc has been playing well even if he loses concentration every now and then.
4. Benoit Badiashile
Gets back into the squad.