Top-four clash on Day After Boxing Day
Instead of traditional Boxing Day fixtures, this year we get games on the day after. But they may be worth the wait — or at least we had one extra stress-free day to enjoy the holiday season — as Chelsea take on high-flying Aston Villa on Saturday night at Stamford Bridge. Yours truly will be in attendance as well (and the day delay certainly helps with logistics!), which hopefully will make it an even grander occasion as Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers resume their friendly personal rivalry.
And Palmer’s going to have to produce something classic once again, just like last year, if we are to have a chance. Villa have won seven (7!) in a row in the league, including one against Arsenal, and ten (10!) in a row in all competitions. They have inserted themselves firmly into the title-challenge conversation, as only three points separate them, Manchester City, and Arsenal at the top of the table. Chelsea are well off the pace at this point, though a win here could help make things interesting in the second half of the season.
It’s promising to be a season-defining stretch over this festive period, with games against Villa, Bournemouth, and Manchester City in quick succession. Are we contenders, or just pretenders?
Date / Time: Saturday, December 27, 2025, 17.30 GMT; 12:30pm EST; 11pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Stuart Attwell (on pitch); Paul Howard (VAR)
Forecast: Somewhat mild, dry, breezy
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBC, Universo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: The rarity of a match-free midweek, combined with a two-day Christmas break for the players, should have the team well rested — certainly for this time of year! — and raring to go. The return from injury of Estêvão and Liam Delap should provide further boost as well, with our absentee list reduced to just three: Levi Colwill, Dário Essugo, and Roméo Lavia.
Of course, Enzo Maresca will also be absent, serving his second one-match suspension for some sideline antics. (This time, they were slightly less celebratory than against Liverpool.) It’s not a place he likes to be, so hopefully the players can deliver for his, and our sakes as well.
Though we’ve had a couple creditable draws in there, we have just two wins in our last seven in all competitions. The consistency that we’d need for a title challenge is certainly eluding us, but we tend to play our best against the best. And Villa are certainly up there among the league’s best so far this season.
Aston Villa team news: After a sixth-place finish last season, failing to win any of their five league games this season (collecting just two points) was certainly disappointing, but as mentioned above, Villa have now rattled off a bunch of wins in a row and put that rocky start firmly in the rear view. They are going strong both domestically and in Europe (Europa League), and Unai Emery might just end Villa’s trophy-drought this season.
Jacob Ramsey’s departure to Newcastle United in the summer was a big loss, but Villa did manage to hang on to Ollie Watkins, which, as it turns out, maybe wasn’t such a big deal after all. The likes of Donyell Malen, Emiliano Buendía, and leading-scorer Morgan Rogers have emerged as the key figures in their attack with timely contributions. Villa have scored fewer goals and conceded more than Chelsea have, yet are seven points ahead of us.
Among the few players missing for Villa is ex-Chelsea preseason hero Ross Barkley, while defenders Tyrone Mings (seemingly perpetually injured) and Pau Torres are both out. Other ex-Chelsea friends Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho (on loan here this year from Manchester United) are both available, and the latter should certainly get a nice reception on his return to the Bridge.
Previously: We won this fixture 3-0 last season. Pretty good, though it was no 8-0 from the 2012-13 festive season!
Category: General Sports
