In the FA Cup’s fourth round, Chelsea will host Aston Villa this Friday night.
In their two prior encounters with Villa, the Blues had suffered losses both times at home.
But having defeated Middlesbrough 6-1 earlier this week to secure their place in the Carabao Cup final, Mauricio Pochettino’s team is fired up for tomorrow.
The Blues places a great deal of emphasis this season on winning domestic cup tournaments in the absence of any European action.
In the forthcoming cup match, BBC analyst Chris Sutton has predicted that Chelsea will defeat Premier League opponents Villa by a close margin.
Sutton told BBC Sport, “The cups offer a way for Chelsea to save their season, and they are already in the Carabao Cup final after beating Middlesbrough.”
“Mauricio Pochettino’s team has been improving; it’s simply not improving at the dramatic rate we had anticipated.
The Blues must play at full strength in this match, but Aston Villa may be considering the top four and their matchup with Newcastle on Tuesday.
“Considering how good Villa has been this season, I’d love to see them really go for it in the FA Cup as well, but I’m not sure how Unai Emery will handle it.
“I think Chelsea will win because of everything, but I’ve already been incorrect a lot this season about them.
“Sutton projects a score of 2-1.”
Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Fourth-placed Villa in the Premier League currently have 12 points more than Chelsea, who are currently in the middle of the table.
We’ll be curious to see what lineup Unai Emery chooses for Villa’s crucial league match against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will want to build on their strong home performance.
Considering how quickly things happened after Boro, we’d like to see some changes against Villa, but this team has talent, especially with more players coming back from injury.
