Both Chelsea and Aston Villa will be forced to deal with the fallout from the recent international break when they meet in the Premier League tonight at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are sweating on the fitness of Romelu Lukaku after the striker picked up a thigh strain while playing for Belgium while they are also likely to be without Thiago Silva, who is one of eight Brazil players set to be banned from playing by Fifa this weekend.
FOLLOW LIVE: Teams and all the action as Chelsea host Aston Villa
Villa have their own problems as they are without Argentina internationals Emi Martinez and Emiliano Buendia after the club gave them permission to travel for the country’s World Cup qualifiers in South America.
They now face a period of quarantine and will miss the trip to the European champions, who enjoyed an impressive start to the season following comfortable wins over Crystal Palace and Arsenal and a hard-fought draw at Liverpool.
Here’s all the information you need ahead of the match this evening.
What time is it on?
The match will kick off at 5:30pm BST on Saturday 11 September.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with coverage starting at 5:00pm. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
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Confirmed line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; Hudson-Odoi, Kovacic, Saul, Alonso; Ziyech, Lukaku, Havertz
Aston Villa: Steer; Cash, Tuanzebe, Mings, Konsa, Targett; J Ramsey, D Luiz, McGinn; Watkins, Ings
Odds
Chelsea: 2/7
Draw: 9/2
Aston Villa: 10/1
Prediction
Even if Lukaku is unavailable, Chelsea should be too strong against a Villa side whose trip to Stamford Bridge has come at a testing time following the international break. Back Dean Smith’s side to get on target, perhaps through Danny Ings, but Chelsea to win by two-clear goals. Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa
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