That's all from us today.

As always, if you've missed any of today's main stories, you can catch up by clicking on the summary points in the top left of the page.

There are three Premier League matches to keep you occupied this evening and BBC Radio 5 Live will have full match commentary of the game between Ipswich and Chelsea.

Alternatively, you can follow along with all of tonight's action with our live text reporting which will be accessible on the BBC Sport home page.

We'll be back with you tomorrow to reflect on those matches and have a bit of New Year's Eve fun!

See you then.

• Aston Villa have won eight of their nine top-flight home matches against Brighton, including a 6-1 victory early last season when Ollie Watkins scored a hat-trick

• Watkins has scored six goals in seven Premier League appearances against Brighton. It's the most top-flight goals he has scored against any team
• Brighton's solitary win in 16 competitive away fixtures against Villa came in the Premier League in November 2020 when Solly March scored the decisive goal.

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Aston Villa are ninth in the table on 28 points, two points above 10th-placed Brighton.

Villa boss Unai Emery has struggled to find the level of consistency they produced last season which resulted in Champions League qualification.

They have delivered some standout performances in Europe to sit inside the top eight of the Champions League table with two games remaining in the new extended league format.

However, those European nights have often been followed by dropped points in the Premier League.

Villa go into tonight's game on the back of a damaging 3-0 defeat at Newcastle, while Brighton's promising early-season form under German boss Fabian Hurzeler has stalled somewhat, with the Seagulls winless in their last six league games.

Tim on X: RE Alan @ 15:07. How can you introduce three at the back gradually? Three and a half?

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Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran begins a three-match ban after the club's appeal against Thursday's red card at Newcastle United was rejected.

Matty Cash is also suspended as a consequence of accumulating five bookings, but midfielder Jacob Ramsey could return to the matchday squad after overcoming a hamstring injury.

Brighton will assess Mats Wieffer, Ferdi Kadioglu, Adam Webster and Jack Hinshelwood, who all missed Friday's draw with Brentford.

Danny Welbeck remains out because of an ankle problem.

Chelsea

If tonight's game at Portman Road follows recent tradition then the odds are heavily stacked against the home side.

Chelsea are unbeaten in their final league game in each of the past 12 years since a 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa in 2011 (W8, D4).

They have not lost their final top-flight away match of a year since 2002, when beaten by Leeds.

Ipswich, meanwhile, are winless at home this season. If the promoted side, who are second bottom, fail to beat fourth-placed Chelsea they will equal their club record of 10 home league matches without a win from the start of a season, set in 2018-19 in the Championship.

The Tractor Boys could also become only the fifth side to fail to win any of their first 10 Premier League home games in a season.

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Cole Palmer's tally of 26 league goals in 2024 is the joint highest in the top flight, alongside Erling Haaland.

The last Chelsea player to finish as the leading/joint-leading Premier League scorer in a calendar year was Frank Lampard, with 20 goals in 2005.

Ipswich fans can take some comfort from the fact that only seven of the England forward's 34 Premier League goals have been scored outside of London.

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Ipswich captain Sam Morsy is available again after suspension and is likely to replace Kalvin Phillips.

Massimo Luongo is still struggling with illness, while George Hirst, Chiedozie Ogbene and Axel Tuanzebe remain on the sidelines.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has said he will make changes to freshen up his side for their ninth match in December.

He confirmed that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall missed the defeat by Fulham because of injury, while the omission of Noni Madueke and Renato Veiga for that game was a "technical decision".

Midfielder Romeo Lavia could again be sidelined because of a hamstring injury.

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There's no denying Newcastle's up-turn in form has coincided with the brilliant performances of striker Alexander Isak.

After a slow start to the season which saw him score just once in his opening six Premier League fixtures - Isak has since notched 10 in his last 10.

He has failed to score just once in the past 10 fixtures when completing 90 minutes.

His recent goals have also elevated him up to fourth in the division's top scorer standings behind Chelsea's Cole Palmer (12), Man City's Erling Haaland (14) and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (17).

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After an indifferent start to the campaign, Newcastle have really taken it up a gear in recent weeks.

Their last four games alone have seen them find the net 14 times, conceding just one goal in that time.

They have lost just once in their last seven in all competitions, a 4-2 defeat by Brentford at the beginning of December.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Manchester United need a new skipper for tonight's Premier League encounter with Newcastle as Bruno Fernandes misses out due to the red card he received at Wolves on Boxing Day.

Argentina central defender Lisandro Martinez was handed the armband for the remainder of the game at Molineux and the likelihood is he will get the job at Old Trafford.

However, when asked directly whether Harry Maguire might get the job back, head coach Ruben Amorim didn't offer a direct answer, saying we would have to 'wait until the game'.

Maguire was appointed skipper by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but then has the job taken off him by Erik ten Hag, who did not believe Maguire was the right fit for his team.

At the time, Maguire seemed set for a move to West Ham but even though United accepted a bid from the east London club, the player refused to leave, and ended up getting his spot in the team back.

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Manchester United

2024 hasn't been too kind to Manchester United and the start to 2025 looks a difficult one.

After Monday evening's match with Newcastle United, the next six look like this for Ruben Amorim's side:

• Liverpool (a)
• Arsenal (a) - FA Cup
• Southampton (h)
• Brighton (h)
• Rangers (h) - Europa League
• Fulham (a)