Well Conte said yesterday that he's going to use the players who have "trained with us the longest and understand his philosophy". So at least he's not afraid to bench the "star players". Still it seems like a ridiculous choice.
There might also be an element of communication to his decision. Inserting foreign players like Vidal and Elia in, who must be struggling with the language, may hinder team play etc. Just speculating here of course.
