Chelsea v Sheffield United: Premier League – live!

25 min: United try to bounce straight back, winning a free kick out on the left. Norwood swings it into a crowded box, but James clears bravely with boots flying hither and yon. The whistle goes, the pressure is released. Good game, this.

Kovacic passes long down the right. Ziyech reaches the ball on the byline and cuts it back sharply for Abraham, who miskicks a little into the ground, but nevertheless threads a diagonal bouncer into the bottom left! Not his sweetest strike, but it’s all about the accuracy.

22 min: Lowe creams a no-backlift goalwards from 25 yards. A rising effort that’s easy enough for Mendy to gather, but a decent strike nevertheless, given the lack of space and time on offer.

21 min: Frank Lampard maybe not so much. It’s pretty comfortable for United right now.

19 min: Another ambitious crossfield pass by Ziyech flies harmlessly towards nobody. Chris Wilder will be extremely happy with the way his team have started this game.

18 min: Chelsea stroke the ball around the middle of the park for a while. All a bit ponderous and sterile. They’re much better when they pile forward with the handbrake off. Ziyech tries to get something going with a diagonal pass into the United box from the right … but there’s nobody in blue there.

16 min: Some space for Mount, who curls in a cross-cum-shot from the left. It’s another easy snaffle for Ramsdale.

14 min: It’s a bit early for Chelsea to be getting frustrated, but Abraham loses the place with the lino over the award of a throw. Probably best to rein it in a bit, plenty of time to recover, just as Liverpool did while trailing the Blades at Anfield.

13 min: Chelsea have been a little taken aback by Sheffield United’s proactive approach. Abraham tries to respond with a sashay and a swivel down the inside left, but his low shot is easy pickings for Ramsdale.

11 min: There goes Mendy’s hope of becoming only the fourth keeper in history to start his Premier League career with four consecutive clean sheets. He’d have followed Pepe Reina (Liverpool, 4), Anders Lindegaard (Manchester United, 5) and Alex Manninger (Arsenal, 6), but that’s all over now.

Norwood and Baldock play the corner short and work some space. Baldock reaches the byline and pulls back for Berge, who leans back and whistles a low shot goalwards. The ball flies through a thicket and is steered into the bottom right by a clever, delicate McGoldrick flick. Mendy was completely wrong-footed. What a start for the Premier League’s bottom side!

8 min: Baldock latches onto a long pass down the right and forces a corner off Chilwell. One corner leads to another, and …

6 min: Chelsea are stroking it around very smoothly, and at high velocity. They’re fun to watch. “Talking of entertaining early evening treats, Celebrity Supermarket Sweep is on ITV right now,” reports Simon McMahon. “John Barnes and David Seaman are one of the couples going ‘wild in the aisles’. Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any weirder.” Bobby Charlton won £512 on Double Your Money in 1959. Nothing is new.

4 min: James makes good down the right again and whips a low ball through the United box. Abraham tries a fancy flick but doesn’t really connect. The ball continues to Chilwell, who batters goalwards from a tight angle. It’s a fine effort, and one that’s kicked away acrobatically by Ramsdale.

3 min: Chelsea’s turn to pile forward. Ziyech and James nearly open up some space on the right. Not quite. Both teams look well up for this.

2 min: A really brisk start by United, who fly out of the traps on the front foot. Basham, Berge and Brewster all put in good challenges down the right. Berge nearly finds Lundstram with a cutback from the byline, but Chilwell is able to clear. A statement of intent, perhaps.

Here we go, then! Chelsea get the ball rolling … but only after the players take a knee. Black lives matter. No room for racism.

The teams are out! Chelsea wear their famous blue, while Sheffield United also sport their storied first-choice colours of red and white stripes. Before the kick-off, a rendition of the Last Post and time to remember the fallen. A moving video of the Chelsea Pensioners on the big screen. We’ll be off in a couple of reflective minutes.

Chris Wilder’s turn. “I’ve told all the players: don’t look at the league table! I have belief in how we’re going about it. Long term, but even as recently as our last two performances against Liverpool and Manchester City. I would not have been surprised if we’d got something out of those games. We can’t go toe to toe with any of these clubs, but we’ll try to stay in the game and try to cause them problems going forward. I don’t believe honestly that our performances this season have been than much different to last year. Players grow in belief and confidence when they take big moments, and we haven’t taken enough of them this season, but we hope the next game, round the corner, we’ll do that.”

Frank talking. “We’re getting better. I expected it, but we had to work for it. New group, some injuries are coming back. Relationships on the pitch are getting better and we’re in a decent place. But in football that never stops, and we’ve got a difficult opponent today. We have to be even better. It will always be about personnel, and defensively about concentration and focus. Every team can cause you problems. Our concentration has been good but that has to continue.”

Chelsea make one change to the team named for the 3-0 win over Rennes during the week. Mateo Kovacic comes in for Jorginho, who drops to the bench. Thiago Silva wears the armband for the first time, with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and vice-captain Jorginho both on the bench.

Sheffield United make three changes to the team narrowly beaten by Manchester City last weekend. Oliver Norwood, John Lundstram and David McGoldrick are in; Oli McBurnie, who was ill during the week, and Ben Osborn drop to the bench, while the on-loan Ethan Ampadu is ineligible against his parent club.

Chelsea: Mendy, James, Zouma, Thiago Silva, Chilwell, Kovacic, Kante, Mount, Ziyech, Abraham, Werner.
Subs: Rudiger, Jorginho, Caballero, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Azpilicueta, Emerson Palmieri.

Sheffield United: Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, Stevens, Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Lundstram, Lowe, Brewster, McGoldrick.
Subs: McBurnie, Sharp, Burke, Jagielka, Robinson, Verrips, Osborn.

Referee: Jonathan Moss (County Durham).

On the face of it, this should be a shoo-in for Chelsea. Frank Lampard’s side have won their last three matches to the aggregate tune of 10-0. Even more impressively, they’ve not conceded a goal in five games, some turnaround for a team shipping them for fun earlier in the year. Hakim Ziyech has hit the ground running, while Timo Werner has found his shooting boots after a quiet start.

Chelsea are on a ten-match unbeaten run in all competitions, winning five and drawing five, a stark contrast to Sheffield United’s 11-game sequence without a victory. They’re down at the bottom of the Premier League table as a result. But you know how these stories end sometimes. United’s last win? You guessed it: a comprehensive 3-0 stuffing of Chelsea at Bramall Lane back in July. And they’ll have good memories of Stamford Bridge, coming back from two down to draw early on last season, a statement of intent posted in fine fashion.

They could do with another today. Their recent performances against Liverpool and Manchester City should give them hope and confidence, but in-form Chelsea will feel they’re due one against the Blades. An entertaining early-evening treat awaits. It’s on!

Kick off: 5.30pm GMT.