By The Independent (Sports) | Created at 2024-12-01 11:30:23 | Updated at 2024-12-04 08:43:27
2 days ago
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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
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.
Chris Wilson1 December 2024 11:00
Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE
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.
Chris Wilson1 December 2024 11:10
Team news
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.
Chris Wilson1 December 2024 11:20
