Premiership: Gallas eyes return

Defender William Gallas is hoping for a return to the Chelsea line-up in tomorrow’s game at Aston Villa after recovering from a knee injury.

Gallas faces a battle to displace right-back Albert Ferrer, who replaced the suspended Mario Melchiot at West Ham in midweek, or the central defensive pairing of John Terry and Marcel Desailly.

While Jody Morris is out of contention for a place and Celestine Babayaro has only just finished international duty with Nigeria, Mikael Forssell is contesting a starting role after five goals as a substitute in the past eight games.

Team (from): Cudicini, de Goey, Ferrer, Terry, Desailly, Gallas, Le Saux, Lampard, Petit, Stanic, dalla Bona, Jokanovic, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen, Zola, Forssell.