Aston Villa have surpassed expectations this year in the Premier League, and even looked like title challengers at one point.

Unai Emery's side currently sit in the lofty heights of fourth, though in order for a Champions League place to be secured, they'll need to avoid injuries to key men and continue to maintain the gap between them and Spurs.

With that in mind, Football FanCast is here to keep you updated with the latest injury and suspension news ahead of Saturday's evening clash with Chelsea.

Latest Aston Villa injury news

Unai Emery has six squad members unavailable ahead of Chelsea's visit to Villa Park this weekend. The player to return to the squad will be Douglas Luiz, who has served his yellow-card suspension. Otherwise, the clash against the Blues comes too soon for Nicolo Zaniolo and Alex Moreno, who both have minor problems and could return next week.

Long-term absentees Jacob Ramsey, Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia and Boubacar Kamara are all out until the start of next season at the earliest.

Nicolo Zaniolo – unknown

Nicolo Zaniolo missed the midweek win over Bournemouth through injury, and while Emery was hopeful that the Italian wouldn't be on the treatment table for long, he will not be fit enough to take part this weekend.

Whether he is fit for next week's Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against Olympiacos remains to be seen, but he appears to be the Villa player closest to a first-team return.

Alex Moreno – calf

Alex Moreno has been out recently with a calf issue, with Unai Emery previously claiming that it would see him out for around 2-3 weeks. This weekend's game against Chelsea was unlikely to mark his comeback, but he could return in time for next week's clash away at Brighton, with the Europa Conference League semi-finals also coming up.

Jacob Ramsey – foot

Jacob Ramsey is set to be out for the remainder of the season after suffering a foot injury, with Emery confirming he will play no further part in the campaign earlier this month.

Tyrone Mings – knee

Tyrone Mings suffered a significant knee injury on the opening day of the season against Newcastle United, and Villa quickly confirmed that he would require surgery to resolve the issue.

The defender is making progress in his recovery, with a comment coming out of Aston Villa:

"When they are injured for a long time, it's the worst in football. It's more difficult for the player, as a person, when they are injured. We've had two injuries for a long time, for all the season, with Buendia and Mings."

He still hasn't made an Aston Villa squad, but he can't be far away now.

Emi Buendia – knee

Aston Villa confirmed that Argentine midfielder Emi Buendia had suffered a 'significant knee ligament injury' in training a day before the season started.

Similarly to Mings, he can't be too far away now, though there's been no timeline given by Emery, with him clearly not wanting to rush the midfielder back to action.

Boubacar Kamara – ACL

Boubacar Kamara last featured for Villa in their defeat to Manchester United, with it later confirmed that he had suffered an ACL rupture.

Emery has insisted that a likely return date won't be until September or October at the earliest.

Aston Villa latest suspensions

There are no suspensions for Aston Villa this weekend. Douglas Luiz missed the clashes against Arsenal and Bournemouth after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season. Luckily, it seems like Villa did not miss him after winning both matches, and they will have him available for selection against Chelsea this weekend.