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.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of kick-off.
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.
What is the 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.
Predicted lineups
CHE - Sanchez; Gusto, Colwill, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
AST - Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn, Watkins.
Odds
Chelsea 7/10
Draw 31/10
Aston Villa 7/2
The Independent vets betting sites for useability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets here to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.
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.
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
