Chelsea take on Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday night in the FA Cup fourth-round replay, hoping to right some Premier League wrongs.
The two teams meet in the Midlands after shaking hands on a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge last month, and the winner of this contest will either face Leeds United or Plymouth Argyle at home in the FA Cup fifth round. The Blues enter this fixture off the back of successive Premier League defeats to Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers, having shipped four goals in each of those to languish in the bottom half of the table.
This has put Mauricio Pochettino’s job under huge threat, and the Argentinean tactician will hope to ease some pressure off his shoulders by beating Aston Villa, who smashed Sheffield United 5-0 at Bramall Lane on Saturday in the Premier League.
Chelsea Team News
Wesley Fofana, Robert Sanchez, Lesley Ugochukwu, Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Romeo Lavia are all out injured for Chelsea. Levi Colwill (tendon) is understood to have a slight chance of making his return against Aston Villa, while Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) is back in team training but the cup game on Wednesday could come too soon for the defender.
Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Djordje Petrovic will be desperate to keep a clean sheet at Villa Park, having conceded eight goals in the last two games. He has done admirably well in goal since deputising for the injured Robert Sanchez but will expect more protection from the defenders in midweek.
Defence
In the wake of calamitous defensive performances against Liverpool and Wolves, Mauricio Pochettino will certainly consider changes in his first XI. Axel Disasi could switch to the right-back spot at the expense of Malo Gusto, who conceded a cheap penalty against Wolves. This could see veteran Thiago Silva partner Benoit Badiashile in central defence, with Ben Chilwell filling the left-back slot.
The Blues’ defensive quartet have to be switched on from the first whistle of the game to keep a hungry Aston Villa outfit at bay.
Midfield
Alterations are expected to be in midfield too, with Enzo Fernandez making way for Carney Chukwuemeka. Despite being guilty of Wolves’ equalising goal, Moises Caicedo should retain his spot at the base of the midfield. Conor Gallagher’s spot in the first XI should also be safe, with the England international joining Chukwuemeka and Sterling in the engine room.
The midfield troika must act as a unit if Chelsea intends to control the game against Villa.
Attack
Nicolas Jackson—back from the AFCON—should get the chance to lead the Chelsea attack, with Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer flanking the Senegalese. The onus should be on Sterling and Palmer to provide width, flair and dynamism from the left and right flank.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke could come off the bench to impact the game when required.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
