Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Unai Emery’s side look to strengthen their grip on fourth place… with the Blues attempting to bounce back from a dismal defeat at Arsenal

Well, that was a really good spot from Kieran!

It would be huge for Chelsea if Reece James was indeed available for selection tonight.

They have missed his leadership and talents for too long. It has been another very difficult season for the captain.

We’ll find out if he’ll make the team in just over 10 minutes…

Kieran Gill, Mail Sport, at Villa Park:

Interesting photo uploaded to the Chelsea Twitter feed because in the background I can see the number 24. It’s Reece James’ shirt, so presumably he’ll be in the team for the first time since December 10. Mauricio Pochettino has to, because he has so many injured players, that he probably has to start using the returning ones sooner than he would like.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino speaking on Friday:

We had a meeting (Friday) and we tried to explain how we should behave when the match is tough and when the demands are so high. We have to try to be stronger, really trust the way we play, trust our philosophy, the way we prepare for games and everything after that, and also be disciplined.

We need to be positive, strong and believe that we can have a good game (against Aston Villa). We need a good attitude and a good approach, and go there to compete against a team that is fighting to be in the League champions next season we have to think “We are Chelsea”, respect ourselves and do our best to win the game and be competitive.

I bet Chelsea fans love the away at Villa Park.

Chelsea give them something to be excited about almost every time they travel to the West Midlands.

The Blues have won seven of their last nine Premier League trips to Villa Park, losing the other two.

They also won an FA Cup replay 3-1 at the stadium earlier this season, so even when Chelsea are struggling, Villa Park are coming through.

Will the strong record continue tonight?

Aston Villa fans are looking forward to this.

The kid in the photo looks very happy to be holding this flare, and he’s not the only one.

We feel the buzz around Villa Park, we just have the impression that the atmosphere is going to be in full swing this evening.

When this stadium starts to vibrate, it’s incredibly difficult to be on the outside.

Mauricio Pochettino came out in great shape yesterday.

He said he is not the only one on trial at Chelsea as everyone at the club has to prove why they don’t deserve to be dumped.

Pochettino also admitted he had not spoken to the owners in months and was communicating through Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

This looks a bit like that meme of Spiderman pointing behind the scenes…

Let’s start with the good news, shall we?

Cole Palmer is back in contention for this one after recovering from an illness. Afterwards, it’s a bit grim for Chelsea supporters.

Malo Gusto was missing again today and he was joined on the treatment table by Raheem Sterling and Carney Chukwuemeka.

Enzo Fernandez underwent surgery, ruling him out for the rest of the season and eviscerating Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield.

The mood is rather gloomy at Villa Park this evening and this ironically matches the deflated mood which has gripped Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino has 12 players out today, a full starting XI plus an extra player, but his team must respond to the defeat at Arsenal.

In truth, they were quite sad that day and the fans’ patience is now exhausted. So no pressure!

Let’s then review this long list of absentees…

Hello everyone. Hopefully you’ve pretty much recovered from the previous Premier League action. There were still so many twists and turns!

We now turn our attention to the affairs of Villa Park. Doesn’t one more defeat mean the end of Chelsea’s hopes in European football?

This could well prove fatal for Mauricio Pochettino too, although he, in fairness to him, made some emotional comments yesterday.

Villa, meanwhile, are so close to finishing in the top four at the expense of Tottenham. They are currently six points ahead of Spurs.

I imagine this one is a bit of a goal fest…

Stay here for all the team news and minute-by-minute updates!