Getting that W in a cup competition was huge for Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea FC side this week. Beating a very good Aston Villa side, to move on to the FA Cup 5th round, is a massive morale boost ahead of the Blues visit to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Pochettino is not exactly a popular guy right now among the supporter base right now, so any major victory helps to ease the situation.
Chelsea FC at Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Mon. Feb. 12, 8pm, Selhurst Park
Chelsea Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Win Probability: Chelsea FC win 52% Draw 25% Crystal Palace 23%
PL Standing, Form Guide: Chelsea FC 11th, 31 pts, LLWWW Crystal Palace 15th, 18 pts, DDLLD
Although he made it clear in midweek, confirming the widespread reports that we saw earlier this week, his job is safe right now.
We’ll see what happens as the season rolls on, but for now he is no imminent danger of getting sacked. For him to last in the job beyond this campaign however, he’ll need to finally show some consistency. Chelsea just haven’t had that in 2023-24.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction at Crystal Palace
Dorde Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling; Christopher Nkunku
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor 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 currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.