Chelsea host Aston Villa in the Premier League this afternoon, with the Blues looking to climb the table ahead of Manchester City‘s crunch clash with Liverpool later.
Enzo Maresca’s side have continued their resurgence after the international break, with a 2-1 win over the Italian’s old club, Leicester City, before an easy 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League. Results yesterday have dropped them into fifth but a big win today could leave them as Liverpool’s closest challengers, with upcoming fixtures including Brentford, Spurs and Southampton.
Unai Emery’s side have had a far more turbulent few weeks, and are without a win in seven games off the back of recent draws with Juventus and Crystal Palace. However, though they find themselves in ninth, they are only three points behind today’s opponents and will fancy their chances of a morale-boosting result in London.
Follow all of the latest from Stamford Bridge in our live blog below:
Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE
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Chelsea host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with kick-off at 1.30pm GMT | Live on Sky Sports
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The Blues could move into second with a big win ahead of Manchester City facing Liverpool
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Villa sit three points behind Chelsea in ninth, and are without a win in their last seven matches
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Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Neto, Caicedo, Lavia, Enzo, Sancho, Palmer, Jackson.
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Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Philogene, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Chelsea FC – Aston Villa FC
Team news
12:10 , Chris Wilson
Here’s a quick reminder of the other team news, with the line-ups expected to be announced at 12.15pm.
Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto have returned to training, so they could be involved against Villa, while most first-team players sat out the win over Heidenheim. With Gusto back, the hosts will likely go with a fairly familiar back five.
Maresca’s main issue could be who he picks to partner Moises Caicedo in midfield, with Enzo Fernandez having performed well against Leicester, but with Romeo Lavia having previously been the big-game starter.
The front four should also look pretty standard, as Noni Madueke and Neto return to the wings with Palmer in the middle and Nicolas Jackson upfront.
Villa’s side will likely look pretty similar to the one that drew to Juventus, with Boubacar Kamara starting in midfield in the absence of Amadou Onana.
Ezri Konsa was in the squad in midweek, so he could return to the defence alongside Pau Torres at centre-back.
Jacob Ramsey is still sidelined, so the front three will likely be a combination of Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn once more, with Ollie Watkins leading the attack.
Enzo Maresca given first team dilemma after back-up goalkeeper’s 11-save show
12:00 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has promised more chances for his fringe players after back-up goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen impressed in the 2-0 win over Heidenheim.
The Italian continued to rotate for Chelsea’s latest win in the Europa Conference League, making 10 changes, and Jorgensen put in perhaps his best display of the season.
The 22-year-old Danish goalkeeper, who joined from Villarreal in the summer, has been tipped to replace Robert Sanchez as Chelsea’s No 1 after a number of unconvincing performances this season.
Enzo Maresca given first team dilemma after back-up goalkeeper’s 11-save show
Chelsea set to lose Reece James for weeks but replacement close to return, says Enzo Maresca
11:50 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea are set to be without captain Reece James for several weeks and the defender may not return to action until the new year.
James missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury, before returning to make three appearances before the November international break. But the 24-year-old is back on the treatment table after picking up a fresh hamstring injury in training.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League match with German club Heidenheim, Maresca said: “I think the best thing we can do for Reece James is not to talk too much about him. The more we talk, the more pressure we put on him”.
Chelsea set to lose Reece James for weeks but replacement close to return
Predicted line-ups
11:40 , Chris Wilson
CHE – Sanchez; Gusto, Colwill, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
AST – Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn, Watkins.
Prediction: It’ll be a close match at the Bridge, but with Villa’s struggles of late and Chelsea’s recent resurgence, it’s hard to see anything but a home win. Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa.
Is Chelsea vs Aston Villa on TV?
11:30 , Chris Wilson
When is the match?
Chelsea vs Aston Villa kicks off at 1.30pm GMT on Sunday 1 December.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with coverage starting at 1pm. Subscribers can stream via the Sky Go app.
If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Team news
11:20 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea’s most recent injury news involves captain Reece James, who could miss out until as far as mid-January with a new injury problem.
Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto have returned to training, so they could be involved against Villa, while most first-team players sat out the win over Heidenheim.
Maresca’s main issue could be who he picks to partner Moises Caicedo in midfield, with Enzo Fernandez having performed well against Leicester, but with Romeo Lavia having previously been the big-game starter.
With Gusto back, the hosts will likely go with a fairly familiar back five, though there is a possibility that Filip Jorgensen could replace Robert Sanchez in goal after his midweek heroics.
The front four should also look pretty standard, as Noni Madueke and Neto return to the wings with Palmer in the middle and Nicolas Jackson upfront.
Villa’s side will likely look pretty similar to the one that drew to Juventus, with Boubacar Kamara starting in midfield in the absence of Amadou Onana – there is still no timeline on a return for the Belgian.
Ezri Konsa was in the squad in midweek, so he could return to the defence alongside Pau Torres at centre-back.
Jacob Ramsey is still sidelined, so the front three will likely be a combination of Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn once more, with Ollie Watkins leading the attack.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE
11:10 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea host Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, with the Blues looking to potentially move as high as second in the table before City play Liverpool.
The Blues have continued their resurgence under Enzo Maresca since the international break, with a win over Leicester City followed by a midweek win that takes them to the brink of the next round in the Conference League.
Meanwhile, Villa have continued a mixed run of form that has yielded just one win in their last eight matches, and Unai Emery is beginning to come under pressure in some corners of Villa Park with the club having fallen down to eighth.
Nevertheless, just four points separate these two sides at kick-off, so any result could be an important one come the end of the season.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE
11:00 , Chris Wilson
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa.
The Blues could go as high as second in the league today, with Villa sitting four points behind them in eighth as kick-off looms.
We’ll have all the latest build-up, team news and updates here.
