Aston Villa vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the fallout from Villa Park
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:
Chelsea come from behind to beat Aston Villa and stay in title hunt as returning Romelu Lukaku shines
Aston Villa vs Chelsea result and five things we learned as Romelu Lukaku fires Blues to crucial win 
Man City extinguish Leicester fightback to go six points clear with thrilling Premier League victory
Man City vs Leicester: Guardiola explains why City don’t concede lots of goals
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side have conceded just nine goals in 18 matches so far this season and there has only been 37 shots on target against during this run.
The City coach was asked during his pre-macth press conference why his team have been so solid defensively and Guardiola explained that possession is key for defence. He said:
It’s the ball. The ball is the only reason why you are stable. What you do with it is the only reason. You create chances, it’s the ball, you concede few because of the ball.
“It’s how you play in the middle, in the situations there, how you handle that, you’ll be stable behind, you’ll be productive up front without that, the same players concede lot of chances. You have the ball, you’re in order.
“Stability is the ball. It’s not to defend 40 metres behind or up front, or high pressing or defend deep or long balls, to be stable as a team is the ball.”
Man City vs Leicester: Boxing Day football
Three Premier League fixtures have already been postponed from Boxing Day’s line up with Liverpool vs Leeds, Wolves vs Watford and Burnley vs Everton all being called off during the week due to rising coronavirus cases.
That being said there is still plenty of action to look forward to today. Four games from the English top flight kick off at 3pm, we’ll be focusing on the action from Manchester City vs Leicester but will also cover goal updatescfrom Nowich vs Arsenal, Tottenham vs Crystal Palace and West Ham vs Southampton.
At 5:30pm Aston Villa host Chelsea then Brighton take on Brentford in the late kick off (8pm).
Man City vs Leicester: Head-to-head
Manchester City have won eight of their last 10 Premier League games against Leicester but the Foxes won 5-2 in last season’s corresponding fixture, with Jamie Vardy scoring a hat-trick.
But, Leicester have never beaten Manchester City away from home in consecutive league seasons.
Man City vs Leicester: Recent results
Manchester City have won their last eight Premier League fixtures which has propelled them to the top of the table and given Pep Guardiola’s men a three point lead over second placed Liverpool. Last time out they cruised to a 4-0 win over Newcastle having also battered Leeds 7-0 in their previous fixture. Kevin De Bruyne is fit again and Raheem Sterling is back in form making City formidable oppenents for Leicester today.
The Foxes meanwhile have been fit with the Covid outbreak. Their last league fixture was also a 4-0 victory over Newcastle but that game was played on the 12th December. Leicester have had two Premier League matches postponed through Covid before playing a midweek Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on Wednesday. The match was drawn 3-3 after a remarkable comeback from the Reds who then progressed via a penalty shootout dumping Leicester out of the competition.
Pep Guardiola remains wary of Leicester despite this season’s drop in form
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has warned that Leicester remain exceptional opponents despite their mixed form this season.
After two successive fifth-placed finishes, Brendan Rodgers’ FA Cup winners have lacked their usual spark this term, winning just six of their 16 Premier League matches.
By contrast, City have won their last eight in the competition to open up a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Pep Guardiola remains wary of Leicester despite this season’s drop in form
The Foxes still pose a threat which the Manchester City boss has warned his players about ahead of their meeting on Boxing Day
Pep Guardiola urges fans to wear masks at games to limit spread of coronavirus
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has urged supporters to wear masks in stadiums to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Under recently-introduced Government Plan B regulations, fans now need to show proof of double vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to attend games.
There has been speculation, however, that the authorities could go further and force games back behind closed doors – as they were during Project Restart and for most of last season – amid surging case numbers in England.
Pep Guardiola urges fans to wear masks at games to limit spread of coronavirus
The Manchester City boss does not want to see any more matches played behind closed doors.
Man City vs Leicester team news
Kyle Walker will miss out again due to illness, but City have not reported any more positive Covid tests. Liam Delap, Benjamin Mendy and Ferran Torres are the only other absentees.
Leicester will test Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu’s fitness after picking up knocks against Liverpool. While Timothy Castagne and Jonny Evans are also doubts.
Man City vs Leicester predicted line-ups
Man City: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus
Leicester: Schmeichel; Albrighton, Vestergaard, Ndidi, Thomas; Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans, Soumare; Maddison, Daka, Lookman
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