Aston Villa confirmed XI v Chelsea: Moussa Diaby dropped for Douglas Luiz
Unai Emery has named his Aston Villa starting line-up to face Chelsea at Villa Park, making just one change from their 3-1 win over Bournemouth last time out, with Douglas Luiz replacing Moussa Diaby.
Luiz missed the last two Premier League games due to a two-game ban he picked up for yellow card accumulation, but he has been reinstated how that his suspension is over.
The Villans go into this clash with the Blues occupying fourth place in the Premier League table – but fifth-placed Tottenham have two games in hand and sit six points further back, making it imperative that Emery’s men do not drop points.
Chelsea, meanwhile, suffered a humbling 5-0 defeat in a London derby against Arsenal in their last outing and Mauricio Pochettino will be eager to see his side produce a response.
Emery will be hoping the side he has named – which Aston Villa announced on their official X account – can condemn their counterparts to another loss.
Unai Emery is right to start Douglas Luiz – but not at the cost of Moussa Diaby
Luiz’s dead-ball quality from penalties, corners and free-kicks makes him a surprisingly dangerous attacking threat, helping him to 10 goals and 10 assists across all competitions so far this season.
The Brazilian pairs that set-piece specialism with the capacity to ping raking forward passes from deep areas – a crucial element of how Villa build attacks and poses such a threat in transitional situations.
However, fans may question the wisdom of dropping Diaby.
The Frenchman is the joint-fourth highest goalscorer and assist-provider across all competitions among Villa players this season, with nine goals and seven assists to his name so far [Transfermarkt].
In fact, he helped himself to a goal in just his last outing – the second strike of a 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
It is not only final third production that the 24-year-old offers, though. His passing accuracy of 84 per cent is surprisingly high for a player who has primarily operated as a second striker and demonstrates his ability to link play as well.
Those qualities may be missed as the Villans look to beat Chelsea and continue their march towards Champions League qualification.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has received a “huge” boost ahead of the clash.
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