Chelsea return to Premier League action on Saturday evening as they face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge and Graham Potter should unleash Mason Mount in his starting side.

What's the latest Chelsea team news ahead of Villa?

Mount, who earns £80k-per-week at the Blues, wouldn't link up with the England squad during the international break despite being selected by Gareth Southgate, as he continued his recovery from injury that has ruled him out for the entirety of March.

However, it seems as if he is in contention to make his return to action against Villa this weekend, with Potter providing an update on all of his injured stars in Friday's pre-match press conference.

He said:

"Mason has trained and he’s available. I think it’s been tough for him because he’s had some niggling injuries and noise and speculation off the pitch.

"But he’s a top professional and he’s a fantastic lad so how he’s acted with me, how he’s acted with the team, how he’s acted around us, has been absolutely top."

Should Mount start for Chelsea on Saturday?

While Potter might be tempted to ease the 24-year-old midfielder back into first-team action after more than a month on the sidelines, the reality is that his side needs three points on Saturday if they are to keep their distant hopes of a European finish alive this season.

After drawing 2-2 with struggling Everton ahead of the international break, Chelsea will need their most creative players available if they are to unlock Villa's defence at Stamford Bridge, and Mount's return of 1.3 key passes and 1.4 shots per game ranks him third and joint-fifth in Chelsea's squad for those metrics, so he can clearly add some attacking threat.

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Southgate was full of praise for the former Derby County loanee after he scored in England's 2-0 win over Albania in 2021, saying:

"He is an exceptional player, he finds space intelligently, he creates chances, he scores goals. I thought his performance was excellent tonight."

Mount was certainly the difference-maker earlier in the season when Chelsea triumphed 2-0 at Villa Park to extend Potter's unbeaten start as manager, with the academy graduate opening the scoring after a mistake from Tyrone Mings before sealing the three points with a superb free-kick.

Meanwhile, as per Sofascore, the Englishman was Potter's second-best performer with an 8.7 rating, having also won 64% of his duels, on top of two successful dribbles (100%) and one tackle.

Injury issues and his ongoing contract situation aside, Mount can still be an important player for Chelsea in the remaining fixtures and if Potter wants to repeat the trick from October, then he should consider unleashing the attacking midfielder from the start at Stamford Bridge this evening.