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Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Premier League – LIVE!

Welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of Aston Villa vs Chelsea today.

Frank Lampard’s side are in action for the first time since the Premier League season restarted, and are seeking a top-four finish.

Today they face Dean Smith’s Villa, who are trying to preserve their top-flight status with the threat of relegation looming.

  • Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Kovacic, Willian, Giroud, Mount
  • Villa XI: Nyland, Konsa, Mings, Hause, Targett, Hourihane, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, El Ghazi, Davis, Grealish
  • How to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Live Updates

Read more…


ES COVERAGE


2020-06-21T15:55:46.370Z

Giuseppe Muro is at Villa Park for Standard Sport 

For all their possession, Chelsea have lacked any real thrust in the final third. Lampard made it a priority to sharpen his attack from the moment Eden Hazard left last summer and Chelsea have missed a that bit of creative spark so far. Still 0-0.

Photo: Getty


2020-06-21T15:52:06.236Z

34 mins: Chance! 

Much better from Villa and as El Ghazi bends a fine ball into the middle McGinn has got across the front of Rudiger but doesn’t get enough on his header and it drifts wide of the far post. 


2020-06-21T15:50:41.963Z

33 mins: Kepa’s been a spectator so far but he’s called into action for the first time as David cushions nicely to El Ghazi and the winger arrows a decent effort towards the bottom corner. Comfortable save, though. 


2020-06-21T15:49:46.156Z

32 mins: Dean Smith and John Terry were both very animated during that water break, which has very quickly turned into an NBA-style timeout for managers, but it’s done little to change the pattern of the game.

Kovacic has a pop with a bit of a scuffed effort that takes a little nick off Douglas Luiz and almost embarrasses Nyland as he spills it back towards his own goal before clawing it in at the second attempt. 


2020-06-21T15:46:10.110Z

28 mins: Twice in a couple of minutes Marcos Alonso wastes a decent crossing opportunity, first after a cracking cross-field ball from Christensen and then when played in by Loftus-Cheek.

On a completely unrelated point, that Ben Chilwell goal was good yesterday, wasn’t it? 


2020-06-21T15:41:57.560Z

24 mins: Halfway through the first half, so we’ll have our first water break of the day. We can understand why we need them, but this first one in particular seems to disrupt the rhythm of the game just as it’s getting going. 

Photo: Getty


2020-06-21T15:38:30.860Z

20 mins: Strike. Mason Mount shifts the ball onto his left foot and lets fly from 25 yards, forcing Orjan Nyland into his first save of the afternoon, a strong one-handed palm away. 


2020-06-21T15:37:14.230Z

19 mins: Willian’s looked as sharp as anyone in these early exchanges, playing a couple of nice first-time passes in combination with Azpilicueta. 

The form and attitude of players whose futures are uncertain is bound to be one of the major talking points over the next few weeks, but the early signs are good for Frank Lampard here. 


2020-06-21T15:34:25.263Z

16 mins: Keinan Davis impressed against Sheffield United in the week and he shows good strength here to hold the ball up with two men trying to shake him off, before back-heeling to McGinn, who wins the free-kick. 

ES COVERAGE


2020-06-21T15:31:30.456Z

Giuseppe Muro is at Villa Park for Standard Sport 

Dean Smith and John Terry have decided not to stand in the Villa technical area and have instead taken a vantage point halfway up the Trinity Stand at Villa Park.

Both are bellowing out instructions and Smith is screaming at his players to press Chelsea defenders when they have the ball at the back.

Photo: Getty


2020-06-21T15:30:41.400Z

13 mins: A little better from the hosts as they work it down the left and Kovacic is so desperate to prevent the corner that he ends up gifting it to El Ghazi in a decent crossing position but the referee says the Villa man pushed the Croatian and it’s a Chelsea free-kick. 


2020-06-21T15:26:03.780Z

9 mins: Since that free-kick in the first minute, Aston Villa have barely touched the ball in the Chelsea half, which is why I’m sure Dean Smith will have been furious with the way it was wasted. 

Chelsea enjoying all the early pressure, though they haven’t tested Nyland yet. 


2020-06-21T15:22:14.373Z

5 mins: That means Ruben Loftus-Cheek has started in a more advance position, playing to left of Giroud though by no means out wide.

He’s the man in the middle that Azpilicueta picks out after a lovely ball round the corner from Willian but he can only head wide. 

ES COVERAGE


2020-06-21T15:20:52.070Z

Giuseppe Muro is at Villa Park for Standard Sport 

With Jorginho suspended, N’Golo Kante is playing in the holding role in the middle of a midfield three with Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount either side of him.


2020-06-21T15:19:23.850Z

2 mins: Villa immediately earn a free-kick about 30 yards out but Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane try a little training ground routine that no one else seems to know about because when the latter eventually clips into the box there’s no one in claret attacking it and Kept claims unopposed. 

KICK OFF


2020-06-21T15:16:52.140Z

KICK-OFF!

We are underway…


2020-06-21T15:14:28.570Z

Right then, the teams are on their way out – separately of course – so we’re almost ready to get going.

Before kick-off there will be a moment of silence to remember those lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and to honour key workers. 

Players will also take the knee en masse in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement before the game gets underway.


2020-06-21T15:09:31.000Z

Giuseppe Muro is at Villa Park for Standard Sport 

Billy Gilmour can maybe count himself unlucky to be named on the bench today after his impact before the season was suspended. It sums up the number of good midfield options Lampard has available that he can leave the youngster on a strong bench. 

Christian Pulisic and Ross Barkley are also among the substitutes. It was Chelsea who proposed the rule change to increase the number on substitutes to nine and, when you look at the options they have, it is easy to see why.

Photo: Getty


2020-06-21T15:04:31.000Z

Here’s Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, speaking to Sky Sports before kick-off…

On Loftus-Cheek’s inclusion – “He has trained brilliantly. It’s been a long injury for him. He was just getting fit before lockdown but needed games an this period has given us a chance to get him working hard.”

On starting with Olivier Giroud over Tammy Abraham – “Oli finished really well before the break. He had a couple of small injuries at the start of this training period but it was just a choice today. It’s very important to let players know that this is more than ever a squad game over this next period.”


2020-06-21T14:58:31.000Z

Giuseppe Muro is at Villa Park for Standard Sport 

The sight of N’Golo Kante’s name on the Chelsea team sheet is a huge lift for Lampard.  Frank Lampard made it clear this week that he has no intention of selling  Kante this summer and said he sees the France World Cup winner as a key part of his plans to make Chelsea a major force again. 

Photo: Getty

Lampard suggested on Friday that Kante would start today, despite the fact he resumed full-contract training later than the rest of the squad because of his fears about the coronavirus. It will be interesting to see the role Kante plays today. 

There have been murmurs that he played in his favoured holding role when Chelsea hit QPR for seven in a behind-closed-door friendly last week.

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Team news

Aston Villa: Nyland, Konsa, Mings, Hause, Targett, Hourihane, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, El Ghazi, Davis, Grealish

Subs: Taylor, Nakamba, Trezeguet, Borja Baston, Samatta, Jota, Elmohamady, Reina, Vassilev

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Kovacic, Willian, Giroud, Mount

Subs: Barkley, Abraham, Pedro, Caballero, Zouma, Pulisic, James, Emerson Palmieri, Gilmour

Referee: Paul Tierney

How to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea

TV channel: The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass for £9.99.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app, with a mobile month pass available for £5.99.

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