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

3 mins: Close! Manchester City have started quickly here. Short, cutting passes into the box see Riyad Mahrez set up for a shot that gets blocked. Kevin De Bruyne collects the rebound and slips Bernardo Sikva into the right side of the area. He shifts wide before pulling the ball back to De Bruyne who has a shot of his own blocked by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Kick off: City get the match started with a pass to their backline. Aymeric Laporte sends an early ball up the left side of the pitch as Raheem Sterling drifts in from the wing. He brings the ball under control in the box and squares it into the middle where Jannik Vestegaard boots it clear for Leicester.

Kasper Schmeichel leads out Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City will move six points clear at the top of the Premier League table if they win today.

The home side follow out the Foxes to a big round of applause from the home fans. This should be an intriguing match, City will be favourites but if James Maddison plays well Leicester will be threatening.

For a weekend when there was the least football played yet, it might end up the most consequential period of the season. It is certainly difficult not to think it could be decisive in the title race, when three probably became two, and one went clear.

Chelsea fell a massive six points off top because they didn’t have a big enough squad to weather so many first-team players being out. Liverpool were missing most of their midfield as well as their star defender, Virgil van Dijk, so could only draw against a Tottenham Hotspur that often overwhelmed them. Much of their 2-2 draw involved a lot of debate over whether Spurs’ own Covid-enforced break actually benefited them.

Then there was Manchester City, the best-resourced club in the land. Their team of apparently interchangeable starters cruised past Newcastle United, to go a full three points clear at the top.

After a slow start to the season which saw him drop to the bench on a numbr of occasions, Raheem Sterling can score in four successive Premier League matches for the first time since September 201 if he finds the back of the net against Leicester today.

James Maddison has been directly involved in six goals in his last four Premier League games (three goals, three assists), the same tally as in his previous 26 appearances.

Brendan Rodgers can become the second manager to win a top-flight away match versus a Pep Guardiola team in consecutive seasons, emulating Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Rafa Benitez has a knack of distilling complex situations into a single, telling phrase. He was at it again this week when talking about Covid-related fixture chaos and the strain on players. “Money is managing the game,” the Everton manager said. “It’s quite complicated to find the right solution.”

The solutions are relatively easy. The complication is the cost.

Man City are unbeaten in eight home league games on Boxing Day, winning each of the last six in a row. Their last such defeat came in 1996-97 against Port Vale in the second tier.

However, Riyad Mahrez has been on the losing side on all five of his Premier League appearances on Boxing Day - the worst record in the competition’s history.

Leicester’s only win in their last 11 Premier League fixtures on Boxing Day came against Manchester City in 2018-19.

Jamie Vardy has never scored in six Premier League appearances on Boxing Day however, Vardy has eight Premier League goals versus Manchester City, including two hat-tricks.

He starts on the bench today.

Joao Cancelo has been one of Manchester City’s standout performers so far this season, combining cleansheets with assists and goals from a full-back position.

His exploits have led to Portugal manager Fernando Santos to recent describe him as the best full-back in world football.

“Obviously, it’s a reason for pride if someone [Fernando Santos] says you are the best in the world.” Cancelo said: “I work hard every day to become the best I can be, in the training session and at the matches,

“I’m a professional 24/7, I live my job to the fullest, so if someone says you are the best in your position, it’s a reason to be proud.

“Fernando Santos is the manager of the national team, so it’s an even bigger reason for pride. I think it’s a great compliment especially coming from him as I consider him a great manager.”