Aston Villa team news: Dean Smith set to be without key duo for Chelsea clash | OneFootball

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·22 September 2021

Aston Villa team news: Dean Smith set to be without key duo for Chelsea clash

Article image:Aston Villa team news: Dean Smith set to be without key duo for Chelsea clash

Journalist Luke Hatfield doesn't expect John McGinn nor Leon Bailey to be risked for Aston Villa's Carabao Cup tie at Chelsea tonight.

What happened to McGinn and Bailey?


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It's rare that McGinn doesn't complete 90 minutes in the Premier League. In fact, his withdrawal against Everton on Saturday was the first time the Scottish international has been substituted in the league since July 2020.

On that occasion, it was just moments after Manchester United had gone 3-0 ahead, although this time it was after McGinn suffered a head injury following a clash with Michael Keane.

five minutes before half-time.

Article image:Aston Villa team news: Dean Smith set to be without key duo for Chelsea clash

He was replaced by Marvelous Nakamba, but it was another substitute, Bailey, who scored and assisted to help Dean Smith's team return to winning ways.

However, just minutes after the Jamaican thumped home his first ever Premier League goal, he was also forced off having injured his quad when taking the shot which put Villa 3-0 ahead.

Despite their importance to Villa, Hatfield doesn't expect either to take to the field when Smith's side travel to Stamford Bridge for the third-round tie this evening.

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What did Hatfield say?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "McGinn was obviously a concussion substitute, so they didn't want to take any chances with him and obviously he didn't feel like he could continue, but fortunately it doesn't seem like one that should keep him out for too long.

"Leon Bailey, funnily enough, managed to hurt himself when he scored the goal. He said he hit the ball too hard. He was quite quick to say it wasn't that serious, so it doesn't sound like it would be too bad, although I wouldn't imagine seeing either feature against Chelsea tonight."

How big of a loss are McGinn and Bailey?

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Article image:Aston Villa team news: Dean Smith set to be without key duo for Chelsea clash

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It's going to be hard enough for Villa tonight, so having two key absentees is only going to make their task tougher.

But whilst their last trip to Stamford Bridge ended in defeat earlier this month, Smith's team got the better of Chelsea on the final day of last season, and with little expected of them in west London, Villa have nothing to lose heading to the capital.

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