On Boxing Day, Chelsea will renew hostilities with a certain Steven Gerrard when they travel to Aston Villa.
While their recent run of form may not have been as damaging to any title hopes in a previous era, the standards set by both Manchester City and Liverpool in recent seasons leave Thomas Tuchel chasing.
Chelsea is six points behind the leaders and clearly needs to start catching up.
A Villa side that has been reborn under Gerrard so far stands in their way. Despite the fact that his team has lost to both City and Liverpool, neither game was blown out, which could pose a problem for Chelsea.
At the moment, it appears that breaking down teams will be a difficult task. Make a mistake here, and while there is still so much to play for,
Date, kick-off time and venue
The Premier League game is scheduled for a 5.30pm GMT kick-off on Sunday December 26, 2021.
Villa Park in Birmingham will host.
Where to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Ultra HD and Sky Showcase.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers will be able to watch the game through the Sky Go app.
LIVE coverage: Get minute-by-minute updates through Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog. James Robson will be providing updates.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea team news
Both Romelu Lukaku and Callum Hudson-Odoi are available after testing positive for Covid-19 prior to the Everton draw.
Tuchel's side was much different from the one that faced Brentford in the Carabao Cup in midweek, but it should be a more familiar one against Villa. Jorginho and N'Golo Kante could return to midfield, with Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger also returning to the starting lineup.
Andreas Christensen is also in contention, which is a boost for Tuchel, though it remains to be seen whether he can play from the start.
After their game against Burnley was postponed due to rising Covid cases, it is unclear what kind of squad Gerrard will have to choose from for Villa.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Chelsea wins: 66
Draws: 35
Aston Villa wins: 58
Given Chelsea's recent struggles to score goals, as well as Villa's ability to dig deep against the title challengers they've faced thus far, a draw appears to be the most likely result.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0