Frank Lampard will give Tammy Abraham as long as possible to recover from his hip injury before deciding on Chelsea’s starting line-up against Aston Villa.
Should Abraham miss out, Olivier Giroud is unlikely to get the nod again given he made only his second Premier League start of the season as West Ham won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last time out.
Michy Batshuayi was ahead of him in the pecking order prior to last weekend and could return although Lampard has also experimented with the option of playing Christian Pulisic as a false nine.
Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is set to feature after being dropped to the bench against the Hammers and could play in either full-back position while N’Golo Kante is likely to return to the midfield at the expense of either Mateo Kovacic or Mason Mount.
Midfielder Ross Barkley will miss the game due to illness while defender Antonio Rudiger is set to return from a groin problem within seven to ten days.
Possible Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Kepa, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Batshuayi, Pulisic.
