Latest injury and team news ahead of Aston Villa v Chelsea in the Premier League.

Aston Villa and Chelsea meet at Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday (April 27) evening.

The Villains are once again on Sky Sports as they face a Blues side that will be on the hunt for revenge. Chelsea lost 5-0 to Arsenal in midweek, enduring a difficult week after their FA Cup semi-final elimination last weekend.

A whole 19 points and five places separate Villa in fourth and Chelsea in ninth. Villa can extend their gap over nearest placed Spurs to nine points with the North London side not playing till Sunday, though they do also hold two games in hand.

The games are coming thick and fast and everyone is needed for the end of season run in. Here’s the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off. 

Aston Villa team news

Villa have Douglas Luiz to call upon again. He missed the wins against Arsenal and Bournemouth because he picked up a yellow card against Brentford that resulted in a two-match suspension. 

Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings are all out with knee injuries. Buendia and Mings suffered theirs in August and despite returning to training, they will play no part this season. Kamara got his from playing against Man United in February and he underwent surgery not long after.

Nicolo Zaniolo suffered an injury against Lille and it is unclear when he will return. When asked on the Italian, Emery said: “He has an injury but we have to wait how long it’s going to be. Hopefully, it’s not a lot."

Alex Moreno is contending with a calf injury. He was ruled out on April 17 for two to three weeks. In Jacob Ramsey’s case, his season is done after dealing with some issues in his toe. 

Out: Alex Moreno, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia, Nicolo Zaniolo, Tyrone Mings and Jacob Ramsey. 

Chelsea team news

Cole Palmer was missing for Chelsea in their 5-0 thumping at the hands of Arsenal. He was missing through illness and his absence was felt as the Blues had to do without a player who has 20 goals this term.

Mauricio Pochettino is unsure as to when he will return. When asked about Palmer and when he’d next play, he responded: “We don’t know, we need to assess tomorrow.

‘We will see the squad that we have. We need to deal with the situation.”

Chelsea have been one of the clubs most affected by injury this season. Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana are both out for the remainder of the campaign. Fofana never played after suffering a knee injury while Lavia featured in just one league match.

Lesley Ugochukwu is another absentee. A hamstring injury has had him out since December 24. A possible return date of May 5 has been suggested but the club are taking it on a day-by-day basis. 

Reece James is another who has had to sit things out. The England international has been dealing with a hamstring injury but there is hope he can play before the season concludes. His last game for Chelsea came in December against Everton where he was forced off. 

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is taking part in ‘partial team training’. He played against Leicester City in the FA Cup in March but then missed the next six matches. The 26-year-old could return in early May.

Levi Colwill has been missing for most of March and April. A toe injury has forced him to miss the last eight matches but similar to Sanchez, he could be back in early May. 

Another one of Chelsea’s players out with a hamstring injury is Christopher Nkunku. His was picked up back in February. Nkunku has been training in recent weeks and Chelsea are just trying to see if he has any reaction to that. 

To finish off Chelsea’s long list of injuries both Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto both have knee problems. Gusto’s is a ligament problem while Chilwelll’s came from being on national team duty. No date has been placed on their return as of yet.

Out: Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Christopher Nkunku, Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana. Doubt: Cole Palmer.