Cole, who has been linked with a possible return to Stamford Bridge if the Jose Mourinho's side can offload Adrian Mutu in the winter, is the latest in a growing list of absentees for the game against a side that has not lost in 48 Premiership matches. Nolberto Solano, Juan Pablo Angel and Ulises de la Cruz are all likely to miss the trip as the South American trio are on interntaional duty, while Liam Ridgewell and Martin Laursen are still sidelined. Villa's hopes, which were never particularly bright, are now fainter than a Mars probe signal.