Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said the six changes made to his starting line-up against Aston Villa is purely down to the fixture schedule.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 by London rivals Arsenal on Boxing Day, and Lampard made a host of changes to his side to face Villa at Stamford Bridge tonight.
The match comes just two days after the loss in north London, and the only players to keep their places are Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic.
Lampard has now explained that the raft of changes he has made is more down to the quantity of fixtures, rather than the players’ performances at the Emirates Stadium.
The Blues boss told Amazon prime prior to the Villa clash: “We haven’t had the chance to train because the game is two days later.
“The changes were going to come irrespective, it’s impossible to ask the same 11 to play in two days’ time at the same level, so the changes were natural and we’re expecting a reaction on the pitch.”
Lampard also spoke about Olivier Giroud, who came into the team for Tammy Abraham, with the latter dropping to the bench despite his goal against Arsenal.
The Chelsea head coach said: “Oli comes in, and we’ve had competition between Oli and Tammy - who are both doing well in their own rights.
"Again, quick turnaround, Oli can bring what he’s been giving us recently which is his finishing ability and his personality on the pitch, which, when you’ve lost a game, and you play two days later, that’s important as well.”
The defeat to the Gunners was Chelsea’s third loss in four Premier League matches and they’ll be aiming to get back to winning ways against an in-form Aston Villa team in west London.
