74 min: Tielemans gives away a free-kick right on the edge of the box after catching Fernández on the heel. James smashes it straight into the wall.

72 min: Estêvão comes on for Palmer. Rogers has a free-kick in a promising position. He swooshes the ball on to the roof of the net. It really does feel like the momentum of the match has been flipped on its head.

71 min: Two more yellow cards for Chelsea. Caicedo and Delap, who has literally just come on, go into the book.

70 min: Watkins gets in behind again and gets away a shot under pressure. It takes a deflection which almost catches out Sánchez, but the Chelsea keeper scrambles to make the save.

68 min: It’s Chelsea’s turn to make a triple substitution. On: Gusto, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens. Off: Cucurella, João Pedro, Garnacho.

67 min: Chalobah is booked after catching Rogers on the ankle. Chelsea look a bit rattled.

66 min: Suddenly Villa are everywhere. A lightning counterattack ends with Maatsen lashing a shot on target from a tight angle, forcing Sánchez into a desperate save. Villa win a corner, then another. Youri Tielemans tries to play it short, but it’s intercepted.

60 min: Villa’s best chance so far! Kamara bursts in behind the defence but Sánchez rushes off his line to save.

58 min: A triple change for Villa. Buendía, Malen and McGinn are off, with Watkins, Jadon Sancho and Onana replacing them.

56 min: Villa win another corner, which is twice delayed for tussling between James and Rogers. Both are booked, much to their annoyance. Cash takes it short, playing a one-two with Maatsen, but his inswinger is held by Sánchez. Chelsea break but fail to convert the chance.

54 min: James thumps in a cross which wrongfoots Martínez and looks like it might drop under the crossbar, but the Villa keeper makes an improvised save to keep the visitors alive.

52 min: Chelsea so close to two! Palmer gets in behind on the right and strokes a cross to the far post where Garnacho is waiting, but McGinn makes a crucial challenge to steer the ball narrowly wide.

51 min: Cash steps up. His delivery hangs in the air dangerously, but Sánchez does well to come and claim the ball.

50 min: A shot for Villa? A shot for Villa! Rogers has a pop from distance, but it’s deflected wide. The visitors have a corner.

49 min: Garnacho goes on another galloping run and sends a cross all the way through to Neto. He attempts a faded ball into the area, but Villa clear.

46 min: Normal service resumes. Garnacho whips in a cross from the left and Ian Maatsen just about clears under pressure from Neto. The ball appeared to hit Maatsen on the upper arm, but VAR checks it and adjudges his arm to have been in a natural position.

According to Sky Sports, Malen had the fewest touches of anyone in the first half. Watkins is warming up as we speak. A change on the cards for Villa?

We’ve got a half-time email from Peter Oh. “Hi Will. What’s the most popular candy at Stamford Bridge today? Reece’s set pieces!” Or João-ntree’s fruit pastilles, maybe? I’ll get me coat.

45 min: The two sides trade possession before Badiashile shoves over Rogers to the right of the box. John McGinn’s delivery catches Robert Sánchez off guard, but the Chelsea keeper shifts his weight and makes a low stop.

43 min: Cash launches a ball upfield and Villa get a rare sniff of goal, but Buendía fouls Fernández in a 50-50 to hand Chelsea a free-kick.

41 min: Neto lashes in a shot which is blocked by Lindelöf, before Palmer forces Martínez into a low save. Villa need to cling on until half-time and regroup.

35 min: James slides in on Rogers to deny Villa an opportunity to counterattack. Nice tackle, that.

33 min: Cucurella bounces in a cross which Neto heads back to Reece James, who blasts wide. The stats now read: Chelsea, eight shots, Villa, none.

32 min: There’s a shout for a Chelsea penalty after Garnacho whips in a cross to João Pedro, who goes down in a tangle with Victor Lindelöf. It’s not conclusive either way and Attwell waves away the appeals.

30 min: Chelsea struggle to make anything of the free-kick, the ball bobbling around the box until Badiashile hooks it harmlessly wide.

29 min: Cash is booked after a mistimed lunge on Garnacho. That’s his fifth yellow card, meaning he’ll miss the trip to Arsenal.

28 min: Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah are up in Villa’s half, stroking the ball about with ease. The visitors are being squeezed tighter and tighter.

25 min: Villa are fully pinned back, Fernández getting away another shot in the box which thunders into the wall of claret and blue.

24 min: What a save from Emi Martínez! Neto bends a lovely cross into the box and João Pedro gets on the end of it, but the Villa goalkeeper rushes off his line and blocks the shot with his face.

22 min: A half-chance for Villa. Buendía runs on to a ball into the box but, with the angle rapidly narrowing, he can only clip a half-cross, half-shot across the face of goal.

20 min: Another big chance for Chelsea. The ball falls for Caicedo in the box and he unleashes a wicked shot, but it’s deflected away.

18 min: Neto works a yard of space out on the right, sending in a teasing cross which is cleared by Matty Cash. The Villa right-back goes down with a light bump to the head, giving the visitors a bit of breathing space.

17 min: It should be 1-0 to Chelsea. Palmer bursts into space between the lines, laying off the ball to Garnacho on the left. He squares to Fernández who, in a perfect shooting position, curls an effort just wide. That’s a big miss.

14 min: There’s some argy-bargy after a shove from Cucurella on Rogers, who in turn pushes over the Chelsea left-back. Stuart Attwell has a word but opts not to produce a card.

13 min: Villa soak up the pressure and Kamara gets a chance to break out, but Marc Cucurella intercepts his attempted ball over the top and Chelsea come back at them.

11 min: Buendía bundles over Palmer out wide, right under the assistant referee’s nose. Neto’s delivery fails to bypass the first defender. As you were.

9 min: Caicedo brings down Boubacar Kamara with a hefty sliding tackle, giving away a free-kick just as Chelsea were starting to turn up the heat.

7 min: Neto and Palmer combine on the right before the latter whips a low ball across the face of goal, but it’s hoofed away.

6 min: Chelsea come forwards again, Alejandro Garnacho lofting a ball to Neto at the far post only for Villa to clear.

5 mins: Rogers gets his first sight of goal, but Badiashile steps up to dispossess him. There’s an audible sigh of relief from the home fans.

4 min: Chelsea make a couple of menacing forays down the right flank via Reece James and Pedro Neto, but Villa’s defenders hold firm and snuff out the danger.

2 min: Chelsea carve out the first big chance of the match. Moisés Caicedo hooks a ball over the top to Cole Palmer in space. He lashes a shot narrowly wide of the far post. A warning for Villa.

The teams are in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. The Liquidator is blasting out over the sound system. It’s almost time. Everyone ready?

Here are the match reports from the 3pm kick-offs, in no particular order:

Emery is asked to explain the thinking behind Onana and Watkins dropping to the bench. “We need players,” he says. “More or less, they are responding very well. We must play today 90 minutes and we must try to use our capacity collectively and individually as well, use our momentum. Over 90 minutes today we need to keep strong our game plan, and use our individual players – each one with their skills, their wishes to play their football – and then, good.”

Speaking to Sky Sports before kick-off, Maresca is asked about the challenges presented by having to watch the match from the stands. “It’s very difficult, because I would like to be there,” he says. “But, at the same time, the coaching staff is there and I am in contact with them, so no problem.”

Meanwhile Enzo Maresca, who is serving a touchline ban after being booked in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle, has brought in Benoît Badiashile and Enzo Fernández at the expense of Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto.

Unai Emery has made two changes to the side which beat Manchester United 2-1 last time out, Emi Buendía and Donyell Malen swapping in for Amadou Onana and Ollie Watkins. It’s not often Watkins has ended up on the bench this season, so it’s an interesting reshuffle.

Elsewhere in the top flight, the results are in. Arsenal held on to beat Brighton 2-1 in a nervy match at the Emirates, Brentford thrashed Bournemouth 4-1, Burnley and Everton played out a messy 0-0 draw, Liverpool edged Wolves 2-1 and Fulham won 1-0 at West Ham. Liverpool’s victory means Chelsea start this match in fifth, three points behind Arne Slot’s side, while Villa remain third, four points behind second-place City.

Looking for some pre-match reading? Here’s our report from the early Premier League kick-off, with Manchester City winning 2-1 at Nottingham Forest, plus a bit of Scottish Premiership and Africa Cup of Nations action.