50′ Mount floats a teasing corner delivery into the box from the right flank, but Mings is on hand to nod the ball to safety from inside the six-yard box.
48′ That was a very well-worked goal from Chelsea as Abraham showed great awareness to tee up Mount with his back to goal, and the midfielder kept his composure before drilling the ball home.
M. Mount
Goal
48′ GOOOAL! Mount makes it 2-1 to Chelsea! Willian clips a cross towards Abraham inside the box and the striker chests it back to Mount on the fringes of the area, and he thumps an impressive volley into the roof of the net.
47′ Trezeguet wins a free-kick some way outside the right-hand side of the box, but Grealish clips the resulting delivery straight into the hands of Arrizabalaga as he emerges from his goal.
46′ The referee blows his whistle and Chelsea get the game back underway.
The players are back out on the pitch and we are almost ready for the start of the second half.
Chelsea looked good value for their advantage for some time in that first half, but they lost focus towards the end of the opening period which ultimately led to Villa netting their equaliser. Lampard will urge his side to be more decisive in the final third after the break, while Smith will be looking for a resolute defensive display from Villa in the second half.
The two sides head into the break on level terms with Trezeguet’s effort cancelling out Abraham’s opener for Chelsea. The hosts boasted the best of the early chances and Abraham eventually made their pressure count in the 24th minute as he rose highest to nod home James’ fine cross. Lampard’s side then continued dominating play as the half developed, but they were pegged back when Trezeguet found the net in the 41st minute. El Mohamaday had whipped in a dangerous cross from the right wing, and it landed at the feet of Trezeguet who bundled it into the net before the interval.
45′ + 2′ HALF-TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
45′ + 1′ Willian loops a testing corner which picks out Zouma at the back post, but the defender crashes his header into the ground and Heaton gets down to claim the loose ball.
45′ There will be two minutes of added time.
M. Mount
Yellow Card
45′ Mount is shown the first booking of the match for tugging back Targett near the halfway line.
43′ Chelsea have dominated the first half by having seven attempts and recording over 62 per cent of the possession, but Villa have now levelled the scores despite only having two shots on goal.
Ahmed El Mohamady
Assist
41′ It was an awkward finish from Trezeguet but the El Mohamady provided an inch-perfect delivery to pick him out in the centre, with the full-back taking his time before bending in a dangerous cross.
Trézéguet
Goal
41′ GOOOAL! Trezeguet makes it 1-1! El Mohamady clips an excellent delivery into the box from the right flank, and Trezeguet meets the cross before bundling the ball into bottom right-hand corner.
41′ Kante collects the ball in midfield before driving forward and trying his luck from range, but he blazes his 30-yard effort well over the crossbar.
39′ James takes a risk as he squares a dangerous pass towards Zouma across goal, and Hourihane almost manages to make the interception before Zouma’s impressive recovery.
37′ Mount and Abraham link up well on the left-hand side of the box, but the latter then concedes a free-kick following a reckless challenge on Hourihane.
35′ A string of neat exchanges in the Chelsea midfield leads to Willian being teed up on the right flank, but he runs into trouble out wide and is forced backwards by the Villa defence.
33′ Kante launches a quick Chelsea break as he slots a neat throughball into the path of Abraham, but he fails to pick out Pulisic when he squares the ball across goal as Mings makes a crucial intervention.
32′ Grealish whips in a succession of corners from the left-hand side, but they are each cleared away by a Chelsea player at the front post as the hosts handle the danger effectively.
30′ Willian touches the ball to Mount who drills a delivery into the penalty area from the right, but Abraham fails to make a meaningful connection some 15 yards from goal which allows Villa to win it back.
28′ Grealish receives a short free-kick deep on the right-hand side before lofting a cross towards Mings at the back post, but his towering header is easily held by Arrizabalaga.
26′ Villa attempt to play the ball out from the back through Konsa, but Abraham works hard to win back possession on the right wing before Hourihane’s recovery crushes the danger.
R. James
Assist
24′ James did well to pick out Abraham with his well-timed cross from the right flank, but it was poor defending from the Villa backline who failed to track Abraham’s menacing run.
T. Abraham
Goal
24′ GOOOAL! Abraham makes it 1-0 to Chelsea! James clips a delivery into the box from just outside the right-hand side of the box, and Abraham rises highest in the centre of the area before directing his header beyond Heaton.
22′ Kovacic sprays the ball wide to Azpilicueta on the left flank, but his right-footed delivery then skids out for a goal-kick to the right of Heaton’s sticks.
20′ Mount has another chance to try and test Heaton when he receives the ball just outside the box, but he slices his ambitious attempt well over the crossbar.
19′ Kante bides his time before whipping in a cross from the right wing, and his delivery is met by the head of Mount who nods his effort into the hands of Heaton.
18′ Willian goes to ground following McGinn’s crunching tackle near the halfway line, but the Villa midfielder avoids a booking from the referee.
16′ Azpilicueta receives the ball in plenty of space on the left channel before clipping a teasing cross towards Abraham the box, but the striker is unable to get it out from under his feet.
14′ Chelsea look to launch a quick attack as Willian receives the ball in space on the right wing, but his looping cross is claimed by Heaton as he dives to the ground.
12′ Grealish wins a free-kick on the right flank which means Villa have a chance to send a delivery into the box, but Abraham is on hand to clear Hourihane’s in-swinging delivery.
10′ Azpilicueta sees his floated cross nodded away by Mings and the ball then drops for Abraham near the penalty spot, but he mistimes his volleyed effort which sees Villa clear the danger.
8′ Chelsea pass the ball around the defence before Christensen attempts to drill a long ball towards Azpilicueta on the left flank, but the full-back cannot reach it and Villa now have a throw-in.
6′ Pulisic drives forward in possession before laying it off to Willian on the right-hand side of the box, but he then sees his grazing effort from a tight angle pushed wide by Heaton.
5′ Kovacic slides a well-timed pass into the feet of Mount on the edge of the box, but he runs into trouble on the edge of the box before the assistant referee raises the flag for offside.
4′ Wesley has gone to ground following an aerial clash with James, but the forward soon gets back to his feet following a brief stoppage.
2′ The ball drops to Nakamba just outside the left-hand side of the box and he slots a throughball into the path of Hourihane in a promising position, but the assistant referee raises the flag for offside.
1′ The referee blows his whistle and Aston Villa get us underway!
The players are now emerging from the tunnel as kick-off edges closer at Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to three matches, but the omens are not looking good for the Midlands outfit who have lost eight of their last nine meetings with Chelsea.
Chelsea make five changes to the side that lost 1-0 to West Ham with Christensen, Azpilicueta, Kante, Willian and Abraham all stepping into the starting line-up. Abraham was a doubt for the match after missing the Blues’ weekend defeat, but he has been deemed fit enough to lead the line for Lampard’s side. Meanwhile, Villa make three changes with El Mohamady, Trezeguet and Nakamba all included for the newly-promoted side.
SUBS: Henri Lansbury, Neil Taylor, Bjorn Engels, Jota, Orjan Nyland, Douglas Luiz, Jonathan Kodjia.
ASTON VILLA (4-3-3): Tom Heaton; Ahmed El Mohamady, Ezri Konsa Ngoyo, Tyrone Mings, Matt Targett; John McGinn, Marvelous Nakamba, Conor Hourihane; Trezeguet, Wesley, Jack Grealish.
SUBS: Olivier Giroud, Emerson, Willy Caballero, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Michy Batshuayi, Fikayo Tomori, Jorginho.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Reece James, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, Cesar Azpilicueta; N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic; Willian, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic; Tammy Abraham.
Aston Villa recorded three successive defeats before the international break, but they have since achieved four points from the two matches since the international break. This has included a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United and then a 2-2 with Manchester United on the weekend, which means Dean Smith’s side will now be heading to Stamford Bridge in a positive frame of mind.
Chelsea enter the match following a tricky period which has seen them fail to win in three matches, with the 1-0 defeat to West Ham over the weekend being of particular concern. However, Frank Lampard’s side are still sitting six points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table, and a victory against Villa would certainly ease some of their recent concerns.
Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of this Premier League clash between Chelsea and Aston Villa!
T. Abraham
Assist