Chelsea seek to narrow the gap to third-placed Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on 27 December. BBC Sport explores some talking points before the game.
A ‘cold’ war?
This fixture pits two friends and English number 10s against each other. Bragging rights are currently with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers over Cole Palmer, his predecessor as PFA Young Player of the Year.
Palmer is still finding his rhythm as he slowly overcomes a groin issue which, along with a fractured toe, kept him out for eight league matches until the beginning of December. Rogers, on the other hand, has rebounded impressively from a poor start to the season which culminated in ironic cheers from some Villa fans when he completed a pass against Bologna – a Europa League game during which he lost possession 29 times.
The 23-year-old’s ‘cold’ goalscoring celebration – which he created and Palmer copied while the two players were at the Manchester City academy – has been out in force over the past two games, having scoring twice against both West Ham and Manchester United. He’s provided 10 goal involvements in the Premier League this season, the most of any English player across the opening 17 games.
Nonetheless, since the beginning of last season it is Palmer who has been the more prolific scorer and creator, while his superior passing accuracy highlights a key area in which Rogers can still improve his consistency.