Internationals over; now it's back to business.

To the football fan hooked on the high octane, adrenaline frenzy of the Premier League, an International double-header can prove a real inconvenience. Starved of the wall-to-wall action provided by England's best sides slugging it out, instead making do with the more sedate and civilised affairs of World Cup Qualifiers. Not only for the fans do these International breaks prove irksome. Squads are decimated by call-ups, and the players suddenly move out of the daily brotherhood of club football, jetting to an assortment of worldwide footballing enclaves, changing tongue, team-mates, climate and atmosphere. Immediately after reporting back to base, they are expected to flip mode once again and asked to re-acclimatise to the velocity of the English game. It's no surprise then, when sides heavily laden with internationals often appear a tad jet-lagged when the league recommences.

At least that's what Aston Villa will be hoping. Chelsea, visitors to Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, will travel to the Midlands carrying much more match time and air miles than their hosts. Expect a tenacious Villa to be quick out of the blocks to stop the league leaders finding their feet. Last time out, the home side rattled the previously impressive Manchester City into rescuing a late draw, and could - maybe should - have claimed the full share of the points. Martin O'Neill will hope that a result against The Blues will provide the impetus for his side to move through the gears in what has been an otherwise stop start campaign. To begin with, O'Neill is unlikely to stray from his trusted 4-4-2, but has the option to utilise the pace and width that Ashley Young, James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor give, by getting them to play high and wide to restrict the raids of Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole. A starter for England, Emile Heskey has been on the bench for The Villains recently, with John Carew preferred as the foil to Agbonlahor - who has scored four goals in his last five club appearances.

1 Friedel

24 Cuellar – 5 Dunne – 29 Collins – 25 Warnock

8 Milner – 4 Sidwell – 19 Petrov – 7 Young

11 Agbonlahor - 10 Carew

The timing of the International break didn't come at a particularly good point for Carlo Ancelotti's men. Beating Liverpool at Stamford Bridge had put them back along the planned narrative after the unexpected plot twist at Wigan. The performance against Liverpool was not one for the purists, but was synonymous with the noble art Chelsea have developed of simply getting results by any means. If any side are used to negotiating potential pitfalls, it is Chelsea. Saturday's outing may be another occasion where substance takes preference over style, against a well-organised and motivated Villa, who pose more than their fair share of problems offensively. Of late, The Blues opposition have cottoned-on and countered the influence of their Full-backs, leaving much of the play to be conducted through a narrow and congested midfield. Such proceedings would suit the hosts; on a ground the visitors have won just once in the last decade. Ancelotti will persist with the diamond blueprint, and must decide which two from Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Yuri Zhirkov, Deco, Joe Cole and Jon Obi Mikel, will accompany Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in the midfield foursome.

40 Hilario

17 Bosingwa – 6 Carvalho – 26 Terry – 3 A. Cole

5 Essien

13 Ballack - 8 Lampard – 15 Malouda

11 Drogba – 39 Anelka

A patchy start sees Villa lay in 7th spot, yet only two points behind Liverpool and Arsenal. The Holte End faithful would like to see their club jostling for a Champions League berth. The size and limitations of the squad may decide otherwise, although humbling the table toppers will provide them with belief they can realistically challenge for a top four finish.

Ancelotti’s remit is a much simpler equation -. the title – and testing assignments such as this fixture truly test the mettle of aspiring champions. As they showed against Liverpool, Chelsea can rough it with the best of them, whilst possessing enough individual talent to pluck a goal when necessary. The finer details of this encounter could hinge on whether Lampard brings his shooting boots or Drogba or Anelka fire. Small margins add up to big differences.