Chelsea vs Aston Villa – Team News: Maresca drops formation change to true back 3 | OneFootball

Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in just under an hour, and the teams are in!

It’s no longer that time in the season where we can predict Enzo Maresca’s lineup every time – injuries, fatigue, rotation and opposition specific plans means that the A team – B team dynamic is breaking down, and these team sheets have more and more interest every time.

Last week saw a few tweaks following a rough international break for some players – Enzo Fernandez in the team with Romeo Lavia on the bench, then Malo Gusto not in the squad at all. Joao Felix made a surprise start on the left wing and did well.

This week has perhaps just as many surprises, take a look:

Here are the full team line-ups for Chelsea vs Aston Villa (kick off at 13:30 GMT)

CHELSEA:

So to start with, Robert Sanchez has kept his place in goal – no real surprise there. After that- it gets confusing.

Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are the only full time defenders in this team. Presumably they make up a back 3, with Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho as wing backs.

That leaves a space for Enzo Fernandez to keep his place, now in a midfield 3 with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo alongside him.

Up front, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho support Nicolas Jackson.

It’s a good old Christmas tree – just in time for Christmas!

It’s a very interesting experiment, and one we’ve expected to see for a while. The idea of getting Enzo and Palmer into the team at the same time has just proven too tempting. Neto’s work rate and running power was always going to be tried out eventually as an attacking wing back, we’ve felt.

Will it work out? We’re very curious to find out, and up against a strong team too.