Chelsea FC visits Aston Villa on Wednesday night in a matchup of two sides who had vastly different weekend results. Villa continued to show their mettle as top four contenders in thrashing Sheffield United 5-0.
Chelsea meanwhile conceded four to midtable Wolves, and another L means the pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino continues to mount.
FA Cup Fourth Round Replay FYIs
Chelsea FC at Aston Villa
First meeting: nil-nil draw
Fun Fact: Aston Villa have lost their last five FA Cup matches at home.
Kick: Wed. Feb. 6, 7:45pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Chelsea Preview Material: On the Pitch Team News Starting XI Prediction Off the Pitch Team News
Book on the Premier League authored by The Sports Bank Founder Paul M. Banks: go here
Poor Poch, it’s not his fault the CFC transfer policy is to just throw a lot of money all over the walls, and hope/see what sticks. Although Poch isn’t blameless either.
Anyway, maybe he can lead his Blues side to a result here, and with that, a berth in the FA Cup round of 16.
He’s already led them to the title match in the other domestic cup competition. While that is something, I guess, it is still not enough tio really qualify as “progress.”
Especially at a big club like Chelsea.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa (FA Cup Replay)
Djorde Petrovic; Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer; Christopher Nkunku
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.