Aston Villa vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight

Follow all the fallout from Villa Park

Match Preview: Aston Villa vs Chelsea on 26/12/2021

Follow all the action as Aston Villa host Chelsea in the Premier League this Boxing Day.

Steven Gerrard will be forced to watch from afar after Aston Villa’s head coach tested positive for Covid-19. Villa will hope his absence doesn’t detract from their momentum, having won four of their six games since Gerrard took charge, with their only two defeats coming against Manchester City and Liverpool. That upturn in form has seen Villa return to the top half of the table and they will hope to take advantage of Chelsea’s recent inconsistency this afternoon.

After such a brilliant start to the season, Thomas Tuchel’s side have faltered in recent weeks due to a combination of attacking absences and wasteful finishing. Back-to-back draws against Everton and Wolves have left the Blues six points adrift of Manchester City in the title race, although a 2-0 victory over Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals helped to regain some of their momentum. Follow all the latest updates below:

Aston Villa vs Chelsea

• 28 mins: Villa open scoring as Targett cross skims off James’ head for own goal
• 34 mins: Jorginho equalises from penalty spot after Cash fouls Hudson-Odoi
• 56 mins: Substitute Lukaku puts Chelsea in front with headed goal
• 90+3 mins: Jorginho scores his second penalty of the day to wrap up Chelsea victory

[26 December 2021 15:30 · Michael Jones]

Man City 4- 0 Leicester

28 mins: There have been a few glimmers of hope for Leicester but they can’t keep the ball long enough to string together a persistant attack. The visitors win a corner that Maddison whips into the box. Ruben Dias gets to it first though and heads the ball clear.

[26 December 2021 15:28 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Man City 4 - 0 Leicester (Sterling, 25’)⚽️

25 mins: Raheem Sterling blasts his spot kick into the top right hand corner. Schmeichel guesses the correct way but can’t get a hand to the ball. This is emphatic from Man City!

[26 December 2021 15:27 · Michael Jones]

Penalty to Man City!

Man City 3 - 0 Leicester

24 mins: Raheem Sterling weaves into the box from the left and shimmies around Tielemans. The Leicester midfielder sticks out a leg and hacks Sterling to the ground. This one is a clear penalty and Sterling himself is going to take it.

[26 December 2021 15:22 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Man City 3 - 0 Leicester (Gundogan, 21’)⚽️

21 mins: It’s three! Fantastic play from Manchester City who string together about 20 or so passes to work the ball up to Bernardo Silva. He slots a pass to De Bruyne on the edge of the box and he flicks it out to Joao Cancelo overlapping on the right wing. Cancelo squares a pass into the six-yard box, Schmeichel dives low to get to the ball but parries it to llkay Gundogan who taps in from close range.

[26 December 2021 15:21 · Michael Jones]

Man City 2 - 0 Leicester

17 mins: Close! Leicester win a free kick just outside the City box, right on the tip of the ‘D’. James Maddison takes the set piece and goes for goal. He curls his shot around the wall and forces Ederson into a one-handed save. He palms the ball up and onto the crossbar where bounces back into play to Mahrez who pumps it behind for a corner.

[26 December 2021 15:17 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Man City 2 - 0 Leicester (Mahrez, 14’)⚽️

14 mins: Riyad Mahrez steps up for Manchester City and coolly smokes the penalty kick past Kasper Schmeichel. Man City double their lead inside of 15 minutes. This could be a long day for Leicester.

[26 December 2021 15:16 · Michael Jones]

Penalty to Man City!

Man City 1 - 0 Leicester

12 mins: City win a corner and the ball is whipped into the box. Youri Tielemans grapples with Aymeric Laporte and both players go down. Tielemans has his arms wrapped around Laporte and the incident goes to VAR.

The referee is called over to the monitor, takes a look at it and then points to the spot. Harsh on Leicester I think.

[26 December 2021 15:14 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! West Ham 0 - 1 Southampton

7 mins: Mohamed Elyounoussi has given the Saints the lead at the London Stadium. Kyle Walker-Peters drives the ball to the edge of the box and has options in the middle. He picks out Elyounoussi in the middle who blasts it into the back of the net.

[26 December 2021 15:12 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Norwich 0 - 1 Arsenal

Arsenal have taken the lead against Norwich with Bukayo Saka meeting a cross from Martin Odegaard and finding the back of the net. The Gunners have started strongly with Gabriel Martinelli and Alexandre Lacazette combining well in the build-up.

[26 December 2021 15:08 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Man City 1 - 0 Leicester (De Bruyne, 5’)⚽️

5 mins: That didn’t take long! Fernandinho lifts the ball over the Leicester defence as De Bruyne makes a run into the box from deep. He brings the ball under control and spins away from a tackle. Bernardo Silva runs into the right side of the area to provide an option and draws away the centre-back. De Bruyne shifts to the left, turns towards goal and slots a left-footed effort into the far bottom corner!