Chelsea's one and only mid-season friendly will take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with the Blues facing Premier League opposition in the shape of Aston Villa.
Graham Potter's side have not been in action since suffering a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League on November 12, but Villa have already played two mid-season friendlies, losing to Cardiff City before drawing with Brighton & Hove Albion last time out.
Match preview
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Unai Emery has made a strong start to his reign as Villa head coach, recording two wins from three matches, with the successes both coming in the Premier League against Manchester United and Brighton.
The Spaniard was on the end of a 4-2 loss to Man United in the EFL Cup on November 10, but successive league victories represents an excellent start, and the results moved them into 12th spot in the table.
Villa will next be in league action against Liverpool on Boxing Day, but they will have played four mid-season friendlies before that point; two of them have already taken place, losing 3-1 to Cardiff City on November 30 before playing out a 2-2 draw with Brighton on Thursday.
Emery's side have two more matches to come over the next few days, facing Chelsea on Sunday before taking on Villarreal on December 15, and the club only have one player still at the World Cup in the shape of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Leander Dendoncker's Belgium side were knocked out in the group stage, while Matty Cash and on-loan Southampton defender Jan Bednarek were in the Poland squad that lost to France in the round of 16.
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Chelsea, meanwhile, have not been in action since suffering a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on November 12, which proved to be their third straight loss in all competitions.
The Blues have actually been beaten in four of their last five matches, including their last three in the Premier League, with the run of form seeing them drop down to eighth position in the table.
Having been knocked out by Manchester City in the EFL Cup on November 9, Chelsea are not back in action until December 27, with Bournemouth visiting Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, and Potter's side will then take on Nottingham Forest in their first match of 2023.
Unlike Villa, a large chunk of Chelsea's first-team squad have been or are still at the World Cup, so a number of youngsters should be involved in this match, although the likes of Marc Cucurella, Jorginho, Armando Broja and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are with the squad.
There have been no suggestions that Potter's position at the helm is under threat, but the 47-year-old has only won half of his 14 matches in charge, and there will certainly be eyes on the Blues when they return to competitive action later this month.
Team News
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Villa will be missing their players that have been involved in the World Cup, but there is still a familiar squad in Abu Dhabi, and Emery is expected to select a strong side for this match.
As many as 18 players were involved in the 2-2 draw with Brighton in Dubai, with Danny Ings coming off the bench to score twice for Villa in the behind-closed-doors fixture.
Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins are again expected to start in the final third of the field, while Douglas Luiz should also feature, but Diego Carlos remains unavailable for selection through injury.
As for Chelsea, there are expected to be senior players in the starting XI in the shape of Trevoh Chalobah, Cucurella, Jorginho, Broja and Aubameyang.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was left out of the Spain squad for the World Cup, meanwhile, and he could start between the sticks for the Blues on Sunday.
Reece James has returned to first-team training and could be involved, but Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N'Golo Kante are all still out despite travelling with the squad.
Dion Rankine, Bashir Humphreys, Cesare Casadei and Omari Hutchinson are among the youngsters set to be involved in the contest, with all four potentially starting.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Olsen; Young, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Luiz; Bailey, Ings, Watkins
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Rankine, Chalobah, Humphreys, Cucurella; Jorginho, Chukwuemeka, Casadei; Hutchinson, Broja, Aubameyang
We say: Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea
This should be an open and entertaining game between the two Premier League rivals; Villa have the stronger group of players considering Chelsea's absences, but we still believe that the Blues will be able to claim a share of the spoils on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
