Frank Lampard gets a better performance from Chelsea, but Aston Villa earn a deserved point 

I  think that will do it. Be interesting few days for Chelsea - their game against Man City may or may not happen, and also their next match after that is Morecambe in the Cup, and the lower league side have also had Covid problems. So may be a strange quiet period. Jason will update his match report above shortly. Cheers!

"Yeah, I got a reaction. A performance. First half really strong and got a goal we deserved.

Second half, conceding a goal with a man on the floor -that's the kind of run we are in at the moment. Then we pushed and pushed but couldn't break the deadlock.

"Effort-wise and attitude-wise some of the play was really good vs a good side. I haven't re-seen their goal but I thought there was handball behind that.

"Chilly nearly scored an incredible goal. When you are in a bit of a run sometimes things don't go for you, maybe a month ago we would have won that game, but we are in a tough moment and you have to fight through it.

"All the players, nobody let me down. Attitude was great, didn't get the rub of the game.

"I am not absolutely clear what is happening with City. We have to cross that bridge when it comes. I think we all sense that the next month might be a tough one, with what’s been happening before Christmas with Covid in general, the surge and the difficulties the public has got. Football is secondary in a sense. If we don’t play we’ll keep working and keep everyone safe, that’s first and foremost."

Asked "is football a public service? "

Answers: "Maybe, I don't know. It's difficult for us to say because it is our job."

"Even game, Chelsea are a good side. We have got great character in the squad this season. During this tough year us as footballers we have been very fortunate, to be able to go to our work, maybe it's not quite the same without the supporters but there is a lot of people around the country that aren't able to go about their routine and business so if it means playing a game every day we are happy to do it and hopefully we can continue to do well."

"I asked the players if they were ready to go again and they looked me in the eye and said that they were. Footballers want to play. When we got promoted we brought in 13, and it takes a while to bed in. It takes three or four years in this League [to assemble a group]. This year we only brought in 5. It is different to the Championship and it took some of ours a bit of time to get used the Premier League.

"McGinn is a wonderful character in the dressing room. He feels he missed a lot of football (with a broken leg) and he maybe needed a few games. He is an old fashioned midfielder, box to box, sticks his backside.

"Some tired legs at the end so you are just hoping that nobody makes a mistake.

"We have matured as a team, as a group."

Amazon have got really good access to Smith, he has spoken for ages. Maybe having Andy T, Le Saux plus the interviewer allows them to relax a bit more than the Shreeves 'questioning' method? Although I should say that I think Shreves does a great, incredibly hard job well.

I reckon that is a pretty fair result for an enjoyable, close game. Chelsea were better in the first half, but Villa rallied well and earned their equaliser. Villa probably tired a bit in the final quarter and I think Chelsea will feel that they should have got in a killer blow but Lampard will at least feel that he got a response after the Arsenal bilge.

Chelsea cannot clear it, Ramsey in a crowd scene on the edge of the box, manages to get a scuffed shot in. Deflected for a corner. This should be the last action of the game... Mendy gathers it and that's the final whistle.

There will be four minutes added on. A diagonal ball from the right and here is Chilwell hitting the ball with a glorious bit of technique, a left foot volley that he strikes beautifully. It flashes a foot wide.

Between that and the McGinn effort, we've seen two 'nearly' worldies.

Pulisic still looking the boy most likely. Gets the byline on the right now, crosses, and it's behind for a corner. Rudiger up for the  header but not to any effect.

John McGinn gets the man of the match for a tireless display of box-to-box midfield drive.

Pulisic down the left, finds Havertz. Konsa, who has impressed, with a decent block.

Pulisic slows it to a walking pace, takes his time and crosses but it flashes past the far post with no teammate near. Chelsea missing the Giroud presence in the box I think.

Davis is coming on for Villa.

Both sides are having a right old go here, enjoyable fare. Anybody's guess who wins this. Chelsea probably deserve it a tiny bit more? Close game though really.

Chilwell crosses, Cash tries to clear but straight to Werner! He lofts the ball over from about 12 yards and he should have done a heck of a lot better.

El Ghazi comes off, Jacob Ramsey comes on. And not a bad start for the young man! He picks it up in the ten position (Grealish has gone further out left) and cuts inside... curling a lovely shot that is only a foot wide of the far post. Close! 

Chelsea still playing balls aerially into the Villa box, but without Giroud they look less likely. Nevertheless, one such is cleared but only as far as Chilwell, whose strike is directed behind for a corner.

Martinez gathers that commandingly.

The resultant corner is dealt with easily enough.

Villa finishing this strong but Pulisic looks a real danger. He drives forward now and lets fly with a good strike, tipped over by E Martinez.

Break on for Villa! Grealish runs. Great covering from Kante though to get back and save the bacon of Cesar A, who is out of position.

Ref getting some use out of that yellow card. McGinn surges, arguably loses control of the ball. Kante lunges for it and catches the Scot. Booking for Kante.

Werner and Havertz, both of who cost a lot of money and about whom the Stamford Bridge jury is still out, come on for Giroud and Jorginho.

Beglin: "Last season Villa might have faded away in a fixture like this, but now they are coming on strong."

Ref has booked Giroud and El Ghazi. I did not see ze incident. They both went up for the ball, and got in each other's face in the aftermath, but a yellow each seems about right. No suggestion that either headbutted.

Oh John McGinn! He picks it up about 30 yards out, drives forward and fairly murders the ball with his left foot. It crashes against the crossbar with Mendy rooted and watching helpless. It would have been a goal of the season job from the former Hibs man.

Played in again - there's a brilliant header off the line by Konsa, but he doesn't get it clear, and Azpilicueta has turned the ball in! Flag is up, this looks like it was offside as the ball came across, and indeed it is. Goal disallowed.

Chelsea have a corner. Taken short. Mount receives it and crosses. Watkins with some excellent defensive work. Another corner.

Pulisic, who always seems to play well when I watch  Chelsea, does superbly to get to the byline and cross it, and it finds its way to Kante, who shoots from the edge of the box but telegraphs where he is going to sidefoot it. East enough for Emily M in nets.

Villa improved since the goal, getting some crosses into the box and asking some questions.

Major moment in the match when the linesman gets.... a new flag! A little delay. I guess his old flag was.... flagging?

Annoying for me, because my Amazon Prime service cut out there and I missed the goal. Erm, goal to Villa. More details as I have them.

Cash is left in a lot of space down the right, Anwar El Ghazi is unmarked and he manages to bundle it home at the far post. Chelsea reckon there was a foul in the build up from Grealish on Christensen but the authorities don't share the view.

What you can say for a fact is that Christensen was out of the game, and that led to an overload.

Love Jim Beglin. "Chilwell now knows that Traore doesn't fancy doing the ugly stuff, doesn't like tracking back." Said Chilwell indeed here allowed to gallop proud and free in the area of the pitch where Villa's right midfielder should be, and deliver a cross. Surprised Dean Smith is letting Traore get away with that to be honest. It was noticeable in the first dig as well.

Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had a bright and impressive first half, is sent through down the right but the ball is just a teeny bit overhit.

Do they make personnel changes? Hope Chelsea's levels dip? Change the system.

Oh well no changes at half time.

to see how Amazon react to the Covid match cancellation. I don't mean on-air, I'm not expecting Graeme Le Socks to go on a massive old tear about it. But I wonder if they get / ask for money back? Do they get to show the rescheduled game? Is that in their interest - they have obviously hit upon the strategy of 'owning' a round of matches, ie they show all ten fixtures in this round over the next coupla days. Whether they then want some orphan rearranged fixture whenever or not I dunno.

A fair reflection of the action so far I would say. Chelsea lead through a classic Giroud run and header, and Pulisic could and probably should have been on the scoresheet too. Villa far from overawed but Chelsea are playing well and look a better team. Frank Lampard wanted a reaction and he has got one.

Azpilicueta clotheslines a breaking Villa player to stop an attack and gets yellow. El Ghazi slings in a good ball but Chelsea defend this well. Referee has seen enough for the first period.

Corner for Chelsea, but straight to Martinez.

They done a VAR. He was okay, just. 

Chelsea are up for this. Chilwell and Azpilicueta are both getting forward, getting into the game and getting crosses in.

Mount with a good run and a decent shot.

Villa are nowhere ATM.

I'd say Chelsea deserve that on balance. Given equal amounts of application, they should be beating this XI at home, there is so much talent in the home side. They look at it, and Villa have not been allowed to get going.

Ah that is brilliant from Giroud, the movement could be taught in schools. Pulisic in the ten hole, vision to send it on out to Chilwell on the outside left, he crosses and Giroud just holds and times his position to be the right extravagantly bearded man in the right place at the right time and shows lovely athleticism to dip and dive for the header. Nice play, nice finish.

He has scored ten in ten against Villa! He's a destroyer.

Oh that is close for Chelsea - a mix up in the Villa box. Konsa wins a header to deny Giroud, but the ball pinballs crazily into Cash, and from thence to Pulisic... who tries the overhead but misses from close range.

Chance for Aston Villa -  El Ghazi centres and Mendy has made a mess of this. Cash could and maybe should have tucked that away.

Kante fouls McGinn

Excellent freekick in from Villa... Hause rises above all rivals and maybe, having leapt so majestically to get there, might have wished to do better with the header.

Kante chips it into the box. Oop, the physio is in the game here. He plays it into the box for Pulisic, chest high. Pulisic, as is his right, goes for it with an overhead kick and has crunched Cash. The sort of injury that, thank god, we take more seriously these days but they still basically give him the once over and he's back on.

Better qualified people than me I know have discussed this, but I don't see why you want Kante and Jorginho in the same midfield three. They are not the same player but they are both basically sitters. Kante a busy sitter, I know. But he's a battling DM 6, and Jorginho is a poor man's Busquets.

Grealish with a lovely mazy dribble down the inside left channel, cuts the ball back and that's bad luck that nobody gets onto it. Yet another corner.

Mount cuts it back, Pulisic is arriving hot and heavy.... BRILLIANT diving block from McGinn stops the shot. Another corner. Good, busy, open game so far.

Chelsea players have responded to Lampard. They are hunting down everything. 

Fourth corner of the match and Villa's second. Grealish. Curler. Straight down the pipe of Mendy.

Big chance for Chelsea! Grealish has given the ball away, terrible bit of play from him,. Running back towards his own goal, he plays a blind pass straight into the centre of the pitch! He could not have picked out Pulisic better had he tried! The Chelsea man races clear and smashes it into the side netting. He should have done better.

Training ground corner from Villa, Grealish to Anwar El Ghazi  in the Teddy Sherringham role, peeling off and hitting the ground ball about 15 yards from the first post. No joy on this occasion, but well worked.

Grealish fouled and gives Stuart Attwell a volley for not giving him a freekick. Pulisic gets a similar experience from the ref.

No complaints from me if he wants to let the play run. Jim Beglin: "Grealish is a fabulous footballer but he does not always to stay on his feet."

Another corner, Rudiger manages to get a toe on it and Martinez stops it.

Hudson-O with a nice diagonal for Chilwell,  but good covering from the Villa attackers as they track back to help their colleagues. Corner for Chelsea, delivered in by Mount.

A scrappy, spotty start, neither side into its work yet.

Villa in white shirts, but it is Chelsea in their blue who are attacking as we start, down the right.

Kick off.

for Villa. Martinez proving to be one of the steals of the year.

for Chelsea, he owes his manager a performance. 

The one concern I guess for Villa would be the form of Watkins up front, he could do with a goal. Smith says he's happy with the lad "and you won't find any of our players moaning about him".

Super John McGinn takes his place behind Grealish. What a player that boy is.

He looks relaxed, up for it. Lovely player. Be good to see him have a proper game.

I quite fancy Villa.

"My players have all looked in me in the eye and told me they are ready and up for it. I have yet to see a player carried off the pitch with exhaustion! So we are ready."

They shoot wing-backs, don't they? I'd pay to see Dean's Exhaustoball.

is doing punditry with Andy Townsend. Retro. Two very good chaps.

"Frank came here with his eyes wide open, he knows what is expected at Chelsea," says Le Saux.

"We haven't had time to train. Changes were going to come irrespective. I expect a reaction on the pitch.

"I've got competition with Tammy and Ollie, they both bring different things on the pitch. Ollie brings his goalscoring and his personality in the pitch.

"Villa really difficult, defensively sound. But this is Stamford Bridge if we get our level and our intensity right then we should be alright."

Crisp evening in West London. 

Darrell Currie is doing the Amazon Prime coverage of this, and he's now thrown it to Gabby Logan who is the woman at Goodison.

She relays the news about the cancelled Man City match earlier. It's as reported by Chris here.

City;s next game is against... Chelsea, on January 3.

with his players after the Arsenal match, and he has wielded the axe. Six changes:

Ben Chilwell is the only survivor of the back four from Chelsea's 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Toni Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all into the rearguard.

Jorginho replaces Mateo Kovacic in midfield. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Olivier Giroud start up yop.

Timo Werner, goal-less in 10, gets the Spanish archer. 

Villa, who only played about 49 hours ago, make just the one change and that one forced: sure sign of a side in form and flow. Ezri Konsa steps  in for the suspended Tyrone Mings.

about the City postponement, we will keep an eye on that, hope all the players and staff etc are not too poorly. 

In the meantime, let's zero in on the Chelsea match, an opportunity for Frank Lampard to shut up some critics, and an opportunity for Villa to continue their good run, especially away from home.

Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Chilwell, Kante, Jorginho, Mount, Pulisic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Abraham, Werner, Tomori, Kovacic, Gilmour, Havertz, Emerson Palmieri.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Hause, Konsa, Targett, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Traore, Grealish, El Ghazi, Watkins. Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Hourihane, Nakamba, Engels, Guilbert, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey.

Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)

is OFF! Covid.

Here is Basco with the full story.

Manchester City match against Everton called off due to Covid crisis

A little bit of something from the news wires about a great Chelsea player of recent vintage.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa missed training on Monday because he is considering his future with the La Liga leaders, a club source said.

Costa, who helped Atletico win their last La Liga title in 2014, has struggled to make an impact since returning to the club from Chelsea in 2018. The 32-year-old has six months left on his contract.

The Spain international's second spell with Atletico has been repeatedly disrupted by injuries and he has recently returned from a spell out due to deep-vein thrombosis.

Welcome to our live blog of Chelsea vs Aston Villa, we will have all the team news for you at 4.30pm UK time and the kick off, shown on Amazon Prime, is at 5.30pm. 

There have been few more popular and admired players in my lifetime of covering football than Frank Lampard, the sort of player who even if he was playing for your rivals, always seemed like a pretty decent bloke and certainly made a wonderful career for himself. I've noticed that football journos of my vintage (44)  and a bit older really seem to like the guy and want him to do well; he's probably had a pretty easy ride from the media so far, and obviously he has massive credit in the bank with Chelsea supporters.

However...

This, as football folk often like to say, is a results business and neither Roman Abramovich or the Chelsea support will be too hamstrung by sentiment unless he starts to deliver a winning team soon. It might not be at crisis point yet but the Boxing Day defeat against Arsenal, and also the way that he didn't really defend his players after it, look like clear warning signs. Chelsea sit on 25 points from 15 matches, with three defeats in the last five, and if it begins to look by say the end of February that they are not going to get in the Champions League spots... well, Roman has a problem. And if he has a problem, Lampard has a problem. I'm not saying this is a good state of affairs or a just one, but I think it is the reality.

Lampard has demanded a reaction from his players in the wake of that 3-1 defeat by Arsenal. he said that his guys "lacked energy and desire" after that. They face a tough assignment in that aim this afternoon, in the shape of ston Villa.

Up in the Midlands, Villa boss Dean Smith and his guys seem to be in a good moment.

“These are exciting times.  We have been playing well these last five games and we are really pleased with the performance levels from the players.

“Whether it is Chelsea, Southampton, Brighton or West Brom we are playing, we don’t mind. We are just enjoying our football and we will continue to do that. A lot of hard work has gone into it.

“Tactically now they are really clued in and there is a growing maturity in what I believe is the youngest team in the league in terms of average age. It bodes well.”

Villa have ten points from the last 12 game, and only two conceded on the road this season, a young and hungry Aston Villa side (with a Chelsea legend in the dug out!) are exactly the sort of prospect that Lampard could do without. We will see the XI he names to meet them soon...