Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result and reaction after Cole Palmer stunner seals victory

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Enzo Maresca simply replied “no” when asked if his side were in the title race.

“I said many times - I didn’t like the pressure. I didn’t like to say yes we are there, but we are not there.

“Arsenal are ahead of us, [Manchester] City is ahead of us, Liverpool showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we will see.

“For me, it is not about points or the table, it is about the process and the programme. Five years together [Arsenal], nine together [Man City]... Liverpool is different but they didn’t make too many changes from before. [It’s] not about the points difference on the table, it is about the time together.”

The Italian added that it is good to see his team improving, but “at the same time, you have to be realistic”.

“You can see the difference between us and the rest in this moment. It doesn’t mean we are not going to compete and win games. We will do that to the end. The main focus has to be the feeling we are improving game after game.”

This will be the 157th meeting between these two sides, with the first dating back to the early 1900s. Overall, Chelsea have won 65, with Villa winning 55 and 36 ending as draws.

In this fixture last season, Villa ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Ollie Watkins, while the reverse fixture finished as a 2-2 draw.

The two sides also faced off in the FA Cup, with the first match ending as a draw and the replay ending with a 3-1 win to the Blues.

There are two more 1.30pm kick-offs today, with Manchester United taking on Everton at Old Trafford and Tottenham facing Fulham,

Of course, 4pm sees the big clash at the top of the table, with Liverpool hosting Manchester City.

Aston Villa defender Matty Cash says the 0-0 Champions League draw against Juventus was a “building block” in their bid to regain top form.

Villa’s early-season promise has hit the skids in recent weeks and the Villa Park stalemate was a seventh game without a win, comfortably the longest streak in Unai Emery’s reign.

But their display against the Italian giants, which could have been a win had Morgan Rogers’ injury-time goal not been controversially ruled out, was much better.

Unai Emery has made two changes to the side that drew to Juventus in midweek. In defence, Ezri Konsa is fit to start in place of Diego Carlos, while on the wing, Jaden Philogene comes in for Leon Bailey.

Enzo Maresca has made three changes to the side that beat Leicester last time out, with Benoit Badiashile dropping out of defence in favour of Romeo Lavia, who moves into midfield with Caicedo dropping back into defence.

On the wings, Madueke and Felix are replaced by Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto.

It looks like Moises Caicedo will be playing at right-back today.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Neto, Caicedo, Lavia, Enzo, Sancho, Palmer, Jackson.

Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin, Badiashile, Veiga, Gusto, Madueke, Felix, Mudryk, Nkunku.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Philogene, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.

Subs: Olsen, Carlos, Mings, Maatsen, Bogarde, Barkley, Buendia, Bailey, Duran.

Here’s a quick reminder of the other team news, with the line-ups expected to be announced at 12.15pm.

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. With Gusto back, the hosts will likely go with a fairly familiar back five.

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.

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.

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.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has promised more chances for his fringe players after back-up goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen impressed in the 2-0 win over Heidenheim.

The Italian continued to rotate for Chelsea’s latest win in the Europa Conference League, making 10 changes, and Jorgensen put in perhaps his best display of the season.

The 22-year-old Danish goalkeeper, who joined from Villarreal in the summer, has been tipped to replace Robert Sanchez as Chelsea’s No 1 after a number of unconvincing performances this season.

Chelsea are set to be without captain Reece James for several weeks and the defender may not return to action until the new year.

James missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury, before returning to make three appearances before the November international break. But the 24-year-old is back on the treatment table after picking up a fresh hamstring injury in training.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League match with German club Heidenheim, Maresca said: “I think the best thing we can do for Reece James is not to talk too much about him. The more we talk, the more pressure we put on him”.