Aston Villa vs Chelsea Prediction & Betting Tips (7 February)

Winner at Middlesbrough in the previous round of the FA Cup 0-1, Aston Villa then managed to draw at Chelsea 0-0 and therefore force a replay at home in this round of 16. In the championship, the team based in Birmingham confirms the good qualities seen last year. 4th in the Premier League with 2 points more than 5th, the Villans are in the fight to qualify for the Champions League. On the other hand, they appear a little less sovereign in recent weeks, as evidenced by the 2 setbacks suffered during the last 6 days, for 2 victories and 2 draws. After falling at home against Newcastle 1-3, Aston Villa reacted brilliantly at the bottom of Sheffield United last weekend 0-5. After easily dismissing Preston for their entry into the running in this FA Cup 4-0, Chelsea failed to dominate Aston Villa in front of their fans in this round of 16 0-0 and will therefore have a lot to do this Wednesday in Birmingham.

Despite great ambitions, the London team disappoints once again in the championship. Only 11th in the Premier League, the Blues are in a very poor position to obtain European qualification. They have recently shown a resurgence in form by stringing together 3 victories in a row over Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Fulham. The improvement was short-lived since Chelsea suffered two losses against Liverpool 4-1 and Wolverhampton last weekend 2-4. Note that Mauricio Pochettino's men will take part in the League Cup final where they will face Liverpool.

For this meeting, Aston Villa still cannot count on long-term absentees Mings and Buendia, starting defenders Digne and Pau Torres and replacement striker Duran, all on the flank. In addition, the participation of Italian winger Zaniolo is not assured. The Villans showed off their formidable offensive potential last weekend. Still decisive, striker Watkins (11 goals and 10 assists in the PL) is going through the best period of his career. Wingers Bailey (7 goals and 6 assists in PL) and Diaby (4 goals and 4 assists in PL) are also available. This winter, the promising right back Nedeljkovic (18 years old) was recruited but he will finish the season on loan to his club (Red Star Belgrade). Winger Rogers (Middlesbrough) has also arrived, as has Australian goalkeeper Gauci (Adelaide) who has just been eliminated from the Asian Cup. Note the departures of the experienced Belgian midfielder Dendoncker (Naples) and the winger Bertrand Traoré (Villarreal).

The Chelsea squad is further weakened by the defections of the number 1 goalkeeper Sanchez, the captain James, the absent defender long-serving Fofana and potential starters Cucurella, Lavia and Ugochukwu. Also absent these days, substitute Chalobah and starting defender Colwill are doubtful this week. Back from CAN, striker Jackson (7 goals in PL) was able to play again against Wolverhampton. He is in competition with French international Nkunku who hopes to be spared injuries. Former Cityzen Cole Palmer (10 goals and 4 assists in the PL) is essential and scored again last weekend. Not very active on the transfer market this winter, Chelsea decided to loan left-back Maatsen (Dortmund), midfielder Andrey Santos (Strasbourg) and attackers Datro Fofana (Burnley) and Broja (Fulham).