Dean Smith plans to utilise Aston Villa’s squad depth for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie at Chelsea.
Villa travel to Stamford Bridge for their Round Three clash (ko 7.45pm) looking to progress into the last 16 of the competition, having seen off Barrow 6-0 in Round Two.
The Villans go into the encounter on the back of Saturday’s impressive 3-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League.
And head coach Smith says the cup tie provides him with the opportunity to ensure some of his players get the minutes they need, while also remaining firmly focused on securing the club's place in Round Four.
“We’ll have to make some changes,” he said.
“We’ve got some players who need game time, some very good players. We’ve got a deep squad now and it’s a chance to give some of those players some more minutes after a hindered pre-season.
“But they’re ready to get minutes and make sure that, first of all, we try and progress in this competition, which is want we want to do, make it a really competitive game, but also get them ready as well for the season ahead that we’ve got a lot more games in.”
Smith added: “We’ve got the likes of Bertrand Traore, who’s coming back from injury, Emi Buendía, who’s come back from international duty, and haven’t got on the pitch (against Everton). Bert obviously got on for the last five minutes.
“So we’ve got players like that now who can go and play in this game and get some well-earned minutes.”
Villa travel to west London just 11 days after facing the Blues in the Premier League, suffering a 3-0 defeat courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s brace and Mateo Kovacic’s strike.
It was a cruel scoreline which did not reflect a hard-fought game in which Villa gave as good as they got from a stern test against the Champions League winners.
Asked whether he is expecting to see a different Chelsea on Wednesday from the one faced in the league, Smith replied: “In terms of personnel but not in terms of the way they play and the way they approach games.
“They’re a football club that wants to win things and although the Carabao Cup won’t be at the top of their list, it will certainly be on the list because it’s a competition they’re in.
“But we’ve got a proud history as well and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against Chelsea again.”
Smith added: “Our approach will be similar, and I think Chelsea’s will.
“They’ve got a very deep squad of players as well and they’ll be looking to take the eye of Thomas (Tuchel).
“With their Champions League victory last season, people want to get into the team and want to show what they can do.”
Villa fans can listen to live match commentary of the Carabao Cup Round Three tie on the official AVFC app (iOS and Android) or via the match centre on the club's website, click here.
