Aston Villa vs Chelsea: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview

15:30 EAT 26/12/2021

Thomas Tuchel's Blues have secured a Carabao Cup semi-final spot but know that they cannot risk the gap between them and the summit growing any wider

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Chelsea will look to recover lost ground in the Premier League title race when they travel to Aston Villa to square off in a Boxing Day encounter at Villa Park.

Watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea on fuboTV (free 7-day trial)

Thomas Tuchel's Blues may have secured their place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, but know that they cannot risk the gap between them and the summit growing any wider as they face Steven Gerrard's hosts.

Ahead of the game, GOAL has the details of how to watch on TV, stream online, team news and more.

Games	Aston Villa v Chelsea
Date	December 26, 2021
Times	12:30pm ET, 9:30am PT
Stream	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

TV channel, live stream & how to watch

In the United States (US), Premier League matches can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (watch with a 7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

U.S. TV channel	Online stream
NBC Universo	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

Team news & rosters

Position	Aston Villa roster
Goalkeepers	Martinez, Steer, Sinisalo, Marshall
Defenders	Cash, Targett, Konsa, Mings, Tuanzebe, Young, Hause, Swinkels
Midfielders	Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Sanson, Buendia, Trezeguet, El Ghazi, Philogene-Bidace, Carney Chukwuemeka, A. Ramsey, J. Ramsey, Iroegbunam, Lindley
Forwards	Watkins, Ings, Archer, Bogarde, Davis, Caleb Chukwuemeka

Steven Gerrard's side have enjoyed something of a turnaround since the former Rangers boss took the reins from Dean Smith, but there is still arguably room for improvement.

Victory against one of the Premier League's heavyweights would be a real sign of progress, and the ex-Liverpool man could certainly deliver with a number of star players available, though Covid-19 could play havoc while Marvelous Nakamba, Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore are out of the equation.

Predicted Aston Villa starting XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Luiz, J. Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins, Young.

Position	Chelsea roster
Goalkeepers	Kepa, Bettinelli, Mendy, Bergstrom, Sharman-Lowe
Defenders	Rudiger, Alonso, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Chilwell, James, Azpilicueta, Sarr, Mbuyamba
Midfielders	Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Barkley, Mount, Havertz, Simons, Vale, Webster, Hall
Forwards	Lukaku, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Soonsup-Bell

A hectic schedule crammed with Covid-19 issues means that the Blues have lost crucial ground in the title race - and remain walking wounded as they continue to contend, having seen previous requests to postpone knocked back.

With that in mind, the actual absentees for their clash remain hard to call, though Hakim Ziyech should definitely miss the cut with a calf problem, while Romelu Lukaku is unlikely to be risked from the start.

Predicted Chelsea starting XI: Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rudgier; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Kante, Mount; Pulisic.

Last five results

Aston Villa results	Chelsea results
Norwich City 0-2 Aston Villa (Dec 14)	Brentford 0-2 Chelsea (Dec 22)
Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa (Dec 11)	Wolves 0-0 Chelsea (Dec 19)
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester (Dec 5)	Chelsea 1-1 Everton (Dec 16)
Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City (Dec 1)	Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United (Dec 11)
Crystal Palace 1-2 Aston Villa (Nov 27)	Zenit 3-3 Chelsea (Dec 8)

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