Chelsea vs Aston Villa – FA Cup: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction
Premier League rivals Chelsea and Aston Villa collide at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night.
The Blues cruised past Preston while Villa edged beyond Middlesbrough to set up this fixture, with Chelsea putting Boro to the sword in their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side thumped the Championship outfit 6-1 on Tuesday night to book their place at Wembley.
However, there’s little time for Chelsea to celebrate with Villa coming to town on Friday. Unai Emery’s men downed the Blues at the Bridge in September, although they were aided by Malo Gusto’s red card.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Friday’s FA Cup fourth round tie.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A |
|
United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
Sportsnet Now Plus, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific |
Given the swift turnaround from Tuesday’s emphatic win, there’s not much change on the injury front for the Blues.
Pochettino could soon welcome back the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu, but none are expected to feature on Friday night.
Christopher Nkunku remains an injury concern as does Malo Gusto. Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Wesley Fofana are longer-term absentees.
Nicolas Jackson is away on international duty.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Villa (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gilchrist, Disasi, Badiashile, Chilwell; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Chukwuemeka, Sterling; Broja.
Lucas Digne is unlikely to feature on Friday with a hamstring injury, so Alex Moreno should keep his place in the team.
Bertrand Traore is also a doubt, although the winger has been a peripheral squad member this term.
Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are long-term absentees, with the former potentially returning next month.
Villa predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-2-2-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Moreno; Luiz, Tielemans; McGinn, Zaniolo; Diaby, Watkins.
The pressure has been eased on Poch after Tuesday’s success, although the Blues will be full of confidence as they prepare for Villa’s visit.
Chelsea will be keen to get one over Emery’s men after they were beaten in their first Premier League meeting of the season and they’ve won their last nine games at the Bridge in all competitions.
Villa’s away form this term hasn’t been superb, but they’ve shown some grit on their travels as of late and they could squeak out a replay on Friday night.