Neither side found a way through in the opening 45 minutes, but both sides showed plenty of commitment and attacking flair. The first 25 minutes were slow, but the game came to life towards the end. Ziyech had Chelsea's best chance, but Steer was on hand to keep him at bay. Archer, El Ghazi and Traore all had chances at the death for Villa, but Kepa and James got in the way to keep the game at 0-0.
45' + 3' HALF-TIME - CHELSEA 0-0 ASTON VILLA.
45' SAVE! Traore is the latest player to try his luck, but Kepa gets down to his left to deny the Villa winger.
45' Three minutes stoppage time to come...
44' OFF THE LINE!! Villa go agonisingly close to opening the scoring as they see two attempts blocked at the end of the first half. Archer managed to sneak in behind the Blues defence, but his shot was saved by Kepa. However, the follow-up fell to El Ghazi, who steered his effort towards goal, only to see James race back in time to clear his strike off the line.
42' Villa have an injury to worry about as Sanson goes down injured, and he looks to be suggesting that is the end of his night.
41' BLOCK! Nakamba gets in the way of a Werner shot to ensure the scoreline remains 0-0.
40' The history books suggest Chelsea should be in for a good night this evening. The Blues have progressed from each of their last ten third round ties in the EFL Cup since a 4-3 defeat to Newcastle back in 2010-11.
37' SAVE! Ziyech has been a passenger for the first 30 minutes, but he bursts into life as he forces Steer into a save. The Chelsea winger received the ball in the box and did well to turn sharply before going for goal. Steer reacted quickly and kept him at bay, and that is the highlight of the match so far.
33' Villa waste the free-kick they won after Sarr's clumsy challenge, and Traore needed treatment for an upper-body injury after an awkward landing. He seems happy to return to the pitch, but he is not moving comfortably.
29' CLOSE! El Ghazi wins a corner for Villa, but it was nearly so much more than that. A low cross had to be dealt with by the home defence, and Chilwell was inches away from scoring an own-goal after trying to divert the cross.
27' Tuchel does have Lukaku on his bench, just in case he needs to turn to him, and he may need to if Werner fails to get involved. The German has barely kicked a ball in anger so far!
24' The battle between Chilwell and Cash is hotting up, with the latter getting the better of their duels of late.
22' WIDE! Chelsea pile on the pressure, and Kante picks out Saul at the back post with a looping cross. The former Atletico Madrid man got to the ball before Cash, but his header was well wide in the end.
18' We are nearly 20 minutes in, and neither keeper has had much to do, Chelsea are certainly playing on the front foot, but the ten changes have taken their toll on their style of play at present.
16' Traore gets a huge round of applause from the Villa fans as he dribbles out of a tricky situation before making his way down the touchline, only to win a free-kick after a poor challenge from Sarr.
13' Villa are struggling to get hold of the ball in midfield, and both Nakamba and Sanson need to do more if they are to start to get a foothold in this match.
10' Chelsea are starting to get a little more joy when on the ball, and the majority of their play has come down the left-hand side. Sadly for the Blues, Chilwell has shown signs of rustiness, and both his recent crosses have been wayward.
7' Chelsea win the first corner of the match, but Tuchel's side fail to pose any problems for the visitors after a poor delivery, and it remains goalless.
5' Interesting to see Smith leave Ings and Watkins out of his team for this evening, with the visitors' bench lacking experience.
3' It has been a slow start so far in west London, with Chelsea trying to build attacks from the back, but they have yet to make much progress thanks to Villa's midfield.
1' We are underway!
The two teams make their way onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge, and kick-off is moments away.
This fixture will be the fifth League Cup tie between Chelsea and Aston Villa, and the first since 2006-07 when the sides met in the fourth round. Chelsea have progressed from three of the previous four, with Aston Villa’s only triumph coming back in 2003-04 in the quarter-finals.
Only Kepa keeps his place from the Chelsea side that beat Tottenham 3-0 at the weekend. Kante captains the Blues while Sarr makes his debut. Smith makes nine changes from the Villa side that beat Everton 3-0, with Cash and Tuanzebe retaining their spots. 19-year-old Archer leads the line in attack.
SUBS: Aaron Ramsey, Jaden Philogene-Bidace, Ezri Konsa Ngoyo, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lamare Bogarde, Viljami Sinisalo, Caleb Chukwuemeka.
ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): Jed Steer, Matty Cash, Axel Tuanzebe, Kortney Hause, Ashley Young; Marvelous Nakamba, Morgan Sanson; Bertrand Traore, Emiliano Buendia, Anwar El Ghazi; Cameron Archer.
SUBS: Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount, Marcus Bettinelli, Ross Barkley, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Xavier Mbuyamba.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr, Ben Chilwell' Ruben Loftus-Cheek, N'Golo Kante, Saul Niguez; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech.
During Chelsea's unbeaten run, they beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this month. While the scoreline suggests it was a routine win, Dean Smith's men pushed them all the way, and they will feel they can cause the home side problems at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea will look to transfer their Premier League form into the EFL Cup as they play their first fixture in the competition. The Blues are unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel in the league, while Aston Villa have already played Barrow in the previous round, winning 6-0 back in August.
Good evening and welcome to tonight's coverage of the EFL Cup clash between Chelsea and Aston Villa.
