Chelsea vs Aston Villa Prediction & Betting Tips (26 January)

For their entry into the FA Cup, Chelsea easily defeated Championship side Preston 4-0 at home. In the Premier League, the London team still does not meet expectations this season despite a quality squad. The Blues are today only 9th in the ranking and will have to redouble their efforts to win a European jump seat via the championship. They have still shown improvement in recent weeks, as evidenced by the last 3 championship matches played against Crystal Palace 2-1, Luton Town 2-3 and Fulham 1-0. This week, Chelsea brilliantly booked their ticket to the League Cup final by beating Middlesbrough 6-1. In the previous round, Aston Villa had to wait until the final moments of the match to win on Middlesbrough's pitch 0-1.

4th in the Premier League with 3 points ahead of 5th place, the team based in Birmingham constitutes one of the nice surprises of this season and is involved in the fight for qualification in the Champions League. Be wary all the same because the Villans have only won one of their last 4 championship matches, for 2 draws and 1 defeat. On the last day, they shared the points on the Everton pitch 0-0. Leader of its Europa Conference League group, Aston Villa is qualified for the round of 16.

For this meeting, Chelsea still cannot count on the executives Sanchez and James, the long-time absent defender Fofana, the potential starters Cucurella, Lavia and Ugochukwu, the summer recruit Nkunku and the midfielder repatriated this winter Casadei (loaned to Leicester) . In addition, starting striker Jackson (7 goals in PL) is with Senegal for the CAN while the participation of full-back Malo Gusto and replacement Chalobah are not assured. In the previous round of the FA Cup, Mauricio Pochettino fielded a very competitive team. He could do the same this Friday with midfielder Enzo Fernandez or even the offensive players Sterling (5 goals and 3 assists in PL) and Palmer (9 goals and 4 assists in PL). On the Aston Villa side, the important left-back Digne, the long-term absentees Mings and Buendia and the number 2 goalkeeper Olsen are still missing.

Furthermore, replacement winger Bertrand Traoré is playing in the CAN with Burkina Faso while senior defender Pau Torres is uncertain. On the occasion of the 32nd final of the FA Cup, the Villans coach spared certain executives and in particular the essential Watkins (9 goals and 8 assists in PL) who started on the bench. To see if Emery uses the same strategy for this trip to Stamford Bridge.