Carlos Cuellar makes his long-awaited return to action tonight in Villa's reserve clash against Chelsea at Hinckley.
The Spanish defender will line up alongside fellow first teamers Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Chris Herd in a strong Villa line-up to face the west Londoners [ko 7pm].
It will be Cuellar's first match action since undergoing surgery on his right knee in May.
The 30-year-old, who had an operation to correct a torn meniscus, resumed full training with his team-mates last week and will step up his bid for match fitness by appearing in this reserve encounter.
His last appearance in a Villa shirt came in the 1-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Newcastle in April.
The second string go in search of a second straight league victory tonight following the recent 3-1 success over Bolton Wanderers.
England U16 international striker Calum Robinson will lead the attack after impressing in the NextGen Series win over Fenerbahce last week, while highly-rated 16-year-old winger Jack Grealish makes his first start at reserve level.
Derrick Williams, Samir Carrruthers and Graham Burke are all on international duty with the Republic of Ireland U19 squad.
Chelsea head into this game high on confidence after staging a comeback to draw 3-3 with Everton last week.
The Blues are set to be without regulars Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman who have been called up by England U19s.
The two sides last met in April at the Blues' Cobham training ground when Carruthers' superb long-range effort wasn't enough to prevent Villa going down 2-1 in their final reserve game of the season.
VILLA: Barrett, Webb, Cuellar, Clark, Lowry, Grealish, Herd, Johnson, Cameron, Albrighton, Robinson. Subs: Donacien, Coton, Drennan, Barton, Kinsella.
There will be live audio commentary from tonight's game on AVTV as well as a live text blog with web journalist Dan Harrison
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