The final match of Gameweek 1 is almost upon us as Chelsea prepare for the visit of Aston Villa. Both sides arrive in good form, with the Blues easing past Hull at the Bridge on Sunday and Paul Lambert’s side sweeping aside Arsenal at the Emirates the day beforehand.
Jose Mourinho makes just two changes to his previous XI. In a huge surprise up front, itâs Demba Ba who replaces Fernando Torres as the Bluesâ lone forward, with Romelu Lukaku once again warming the bench â with a trip to Old Trafford and blank Gameweek 3 to follow, the big Belgian can expect to lose significant numbers of Fantasy owners after this bombshell. Chelseaâs other change is as expected, with Juan Mata returning to the starting line-up after a recent thigh problem â Kevin De Bruyne is the man to drop out, with Mata expected to take up position on the right, leaving Oscar to tuck in behind Ba in a continuation of the 4-2-3-1 formation that started against Hull. Fernando Torres is left out of the squad altogether, after being selected to start on Sunday.
For the visitors, Paul Lambert makes one enforced alteration. Nathan Baker is sidelined with the ankle injury that forced him off at Arsenal, so Ciaran Clark comes in to partner Ron Vlaar in the heart of defence. Andreas Weimann and Gabby Agbonlahor flank Christian Benteke up top, with new boy Aleksandar Tonev warming the bench once again.
Our Dugout Discussion chatroom has opened up for tonight’s match to cater for those who like some real-time chatter with their eveningâs action.
