Aston Villa
Estêvão and Liam Delap Return as Maresca Prepares Chelsea for Villa Challenge
Estêvão and Liam Delap are back for Chelsea as Maresca eyes Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa. Weekend
Chelsea have been handed a timely injury boost before their meeting with in-form Aston Villa as Estêvão and Liam Delap are available after recent layoffs. Estêvão had missed the club’s last couple of matches, while Delap has been in and out of the side, his latest problem a shoulder injury sustained against Wolves.
Injuries have been a feature of the season for the head coach. Maresca has also been without talisman Cole Palmer for a significant chunk of the campaign, with Palmer’s workload managed by the man tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City once the six-time Premier League winner rides off into the sunset. The manager has delivered cryptic messages in recent press conferences that suggested he is displeased with aspects of the club’s ownership, and selection availability has added to his challenges.
“Estêvão and also Liam Delap, they are both back,” Maresca told the assembled journalists in his latest scrum on Wednesday. “We didn’t know exactly how long Liam would be out for but he is back on Saturday, and we are happy to have both available.”
Another theme at the press briefing was Chelsea’s reported interest in Antoine Semenyo. The club, which spent heavily on Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens in the summer, had enquired about Semenyo only to find the Ghana international is already in advanced talks with Manchester City. Maresca was asked to confirm the interest before the exchange moved to whether a new winger was needed.
“I’m focused on Aston Villa ,” he chuntered. “I’m not focused on players that can arrive, players that can leave. The only focus for me at this moment is the Aston Villa game. I think that for sure it will be a tough game, because they are doing fantastic, and we need to be focused on that.”
On his relationship with the club and squad depth he added: “Again, I know that I need to repeat every press conference exactly the same, but before Newcastle I spoke about my relation with the club, and I said that it’s good,” and “I spoke about Estêvão and Delap back, and now I need to repeat. Before Newcastle I said that I’m in love with the squad we have, and I don’t think we need to do something. But again, the next one I will answer the same question again.”
Aston Villa arrive having recorded a 10th win in a row, their first such run for 111 years, ensuring Saturday’s contest will present a stern test.
Arsenal
Premier League names December 2025 shortlists for Player and Manager of the Month
December 2025 Premier League shortlists: names, stats and contenders for Player and Manager awards .
The Premier League has published the shortlists for December’s Player and Manager of the Month awards.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin led the scoring charts for Leeds United, netting a league-high six goals across five games. His return included strikes in wins over Chelsea and Crystal Palace and helped Leeds record draws with Liverpool, Brentford and Sunderland as the club climbed away from the relegation zone.
Manchester City provide three nominees. Rayan Cherki recorded four assists and a goal while helping City to five victories. Phil Foden contributed four goals and an assist. Erling Haaland, September’s Player of the Month, produced five goals and three assists in December as he bids to become a two-time winner.
Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitiké matched Haaland with five goals, scoring in victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion and registering a brace in a busy draw with Leeds.
Aston Villa have two forwards in contention. Morgan Rogers finished December with four goals while Ollie Watkins reached five during a winning run that extended to 11 games before a defeat to Arsenal.
Fulham winger Harry Wilson enjoyed a strong month, scoring twice against Burnley and Crystal Palace and supplying four assists as the Cottagers emerged as European hopefuls.
On the managerial side, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta navigated a defensive injury crisis to deliver five wins from six games, extending Arsenal’s lead at the top. Arteta met Aston Villa’s Unai Emery twice in December, with the spoils ultimately shared. Emery’s side also beat Chelsea and Manchester United and recorded a win against Arsenal.
Leeds went undefeated under Daniel Farke during a month that included fixtures against Chelsea and Liverpool, where a new formation produced a crucial unbeaten run. Pep Guardiola closed the year with five wins from five as Manchester City finished December in strong form.
The shortlists follow a season that has already seen recent monthly honours awarded to Jack Grealish (Everton) in August, Erling Haaland (Man City) in September, Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd) in October and Igor Thiago (Brentford) in November. Managerial winners this season include Arne Slot, Oliver Glasner, Ruben Amorim and Enzo Maresca.
Arsenal
FotMob’s Top Five Performers From Premier League Gameweek 20
FotMob ratings highlight five best performers in Gameweek 20: Grealish, McGinn, Thiaw, Rice. ratings
FotMob’s ratings singled out five players whose individual displays defined Premier League Gameweek 20.
Jack Grealish was a bright spot in Manchester City’s 4–2 defeat to Brentford at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The loanee produced two delightful deliveries to tee up Beto and Thierno Barry for consolation strikes and completed more dribbles (four) than anyone on the pitch. He also led the match for chances created (four). There was very little for the crowd to enjoy in a miserable loss to the Bees, but Grealish “didn’t deserve to be on the losing team.”
John McGinn was the key architect of Aston Villa’s 3–1 win over Nottingham Forest. The indefatigable Scotsman scored a brace, the first a well-placed finish from inside the area to double the home side’s advantage and the second a remarkable long-range effort aided by a disastrous piece of goalkeeping. Scoring twice from an expected goals total of 0.45 underlined the quality of his contribution. Strangely, this was McGinn’s first double at club level since a 3–1 victory over Forest in the Championship in 2018–19.
Malick Thiaw continued to impress for Newcastle United, scoring his third Premier League goal in a 2–0 victory over Crystal Palace. The summer recruit was an absolute colossus defensively, registering a game-high 17 defensive contributions, including five tackles and 10 clearances, helping secure a clean sheet. His speed and physicality were crucial in thwarting Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Declan Rice overcame doubts over an injury to start for Arsenal and was central to a 3–2 win over Bournemouth. He delivered two composed finishes, bending a low effort beyond Djordje Petrović for Arsenal’s second and calmly converting Bukayo Saka’s pull back for what proved to be the winning goal. Rice’s all-action midfield display included 14 defensive contributions, and he was only out-passed by two players in the contest.
Aston Villa
Midseason Forecast: Predictions for Gameweek 20
Unique fixtures at the halfway mark: concise predictions for Gameweek 20 across the Premier League..
Gameweek 20 arrives with a slate of fixtures unlike any earlier in the season. With the campaign at its halfway point, this round offers fresh matchups and immediate tests for clubs trying to set the tone for the months ahead.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest both suffered tough midweek defeats. Villa were beaten 4–1 by Arsenal and Forest lost 2–0 to Everton. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara will return from suspension for Villa and Unai Emery’s side bring an impressive home record into the weekend: Emery’s side have won their previous 10 home games. Prediction: Aston Villa 3–1 Nottingham Forest.
Brighton are clear favourites at home against Burnley, who remain winless since before Halloween. Burnley have struggled for shots and have conceded heavily since their Championship promotion. Prediction: Brighton 4–3 Burnley.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are yet to record a Premier League victory this season but showed spirit to earn a point at Old Trafford. West Ham arrive having lost to Wolves previously this season in the Carabao Cup; that tie saw Jørgen Strand Larsen score twice in the final eight minutes and the Hammers are now managed by Nuno Espírito Santo. Prediction: Wolves 2–1 West Ham.
Bournemouth versus Arsenal carries a personal subtext: Andoni Iraola and Mikel Arteta both came through Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea. Arteta is expected to prevail. Prediction: Bournemouth 1–3 Arsenal.
On Sunday, Ruben Amorim captured the difficulty of predicting Premier League fixtures with his preview of the Leeds United game. “You guys have the best league in the world, every game you see there is a lot of draws, you never understand what is going to happen at the end of that week.” Leeds drew 0–0 with Liverpool in midweek and could take another share of the points at Elland Road. Prediction: Leeds 1–1 Man Utd.
Everton and Brentford are the two clubs ranked 19th and 20th for average passes per possession sequence and may produce a low-scoring game. Prediction: Everton 0–0 Brentford.
Fulham have recovered after early-season doubts around Marco Silva and sit near European positions; Liverpool have regained form and should edge this one. Prediction: Fulham 1–2 Liverpool.
Newcastle face an away-minded Crystal Palace, who remain effective on the road but are short of recent form. Prediction: Newcastle 2–1 Crystal Palace.
Tottenham’s inconsistent run meets a Sunderland side depleted by AFCON call-ups yet still dangerous. Prediction: Tottenham 0–2 Sunderland.
The weekend closes with a high-profile meeting between Manchester City and Chelsea, a fixture that has produced goals in recent years and which the west London side have not won versus City since the 2021 Champions League final. Prediction: Man City 3–3 Chelsea.
