Nothing could separate Aston Villa and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fourth round, with the Blues now having to travel to the Midlands for an unwanted replay.
It finished goalless between the two sides first time round, with the Blues having followed up their draw against Villa with two woeful results. Mauricio Pochettino’s side conceded four to Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in two chastening defeats, the Argentine coach’s future now hanging in the balance.
Villa did surrender their unbeaten home Premier League record against Newcastle United last Tuesday, but made up for a disappointing defeat with a 5-0 thrashing of struggling Sheffield United at the weekend. They have already beaten Chelsea this season, Ollie Watkins scoring the only goal of the game in west London back in September.
Here is the lowdown on Aston Villa vs Chelsea in their FA Cup fourth round replay.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
ITV1, ITVX, STV Scotland, STV Player, UTV |
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United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Unai Emery has several injury concerns ahead of Chelsea’s visit, including long-term absentees Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings. Jhon Duran, who was linked with a move to the Blues in January, is also sidelined after picking up an injury against Everton last month.
There are also issues for Villa at centre-back, with Pau Torres a doubt for Chelsea after missing the entirety of January and Ezri Konsa also unlikely to feature after coming off with a knee injury against Sheffield United last time out.
Nicolo Zaniolo could return after missing the match at Bramall Lane on Saturday, while Lucas Digne is nearing a return having picked up an injury in December.
Aston Villa predicted lineup (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Lenglet, Carlos, Moreno; Bailey, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Diaby, Watkins.
Chelsea are still without a host of key players as their injury list continues to wreak havoc on Pochettino’s plans. Captain Reece James is sidelined, as are Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Lesley Ugochukwu and Romeo Lavia.
Djordje Petrovic will continue to stand in for the absent Robert Sanchez, while Levi Colwill is getting closer to a first-team return but is unlikely to feature against Villa midweek.
Trevoh Chalobah is also nearing a return to action having not played a single minute this season, but will need to be slowly re-introduced into the first team after such a long layoff.
Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Nkunku, Sterling; Jackson.
Both teams should field strong lineups on Wednesday evening, as they did at Stamford Bridge in the first match. In that scenario, there is likely only one winner given Aston Villa’s impressive home record and Chelsea’s woeful form.
If Villa can produce the levels they have for much of the season, they should be able to book their spot in the fifth round. With Ollie Watkins back in form and Chelsea’s defence leaking goals, the Blues will not be looking forward to their trip to the Midlands midweek.
