Chelsea vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2024-01-25 19:45.
Just three short days after their stunning League Cup semi-final triumph over Middlesbrough, Chelsea return to FA Cup action against fellow Premier League side Aston Villa. Outside of their upcoming final, this competition is now Chelsea’s only other chance of silverware this season, so the Blues will also be taking this one very seriously as they eye the fifth round for the first time since they were losing finalists in 2022.
Another game here at Stamford Bridge can only be a boost for Chelsea, who have won 40 of their last 47 FA Cup matches played there (D5, L2) – a run that includes eight straight victories ahead of this latest fixture, whilst scoring 24 goals along the way. Another prolific performance could be on the cards here as Mauricio Pochettino’s men have netted 11 goals across their last three competitive home games.
Aston Villa’s short winter break comes to an end here at the Bridge as they feature in an FA Cup fourth round fixture for the first time since 2016. Including that ill-fated fourth round tie eight years ago, the Villans had posted a rotten eight-game losing run in this competition, which ended with a narrow 1-0 win over Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final opponents, Middlesbrough.
That game forms part of a three-game unbeaten run in all competitions for Unai Emery’s men (W2, D1), with back-to-back clean sheets in tow. The next hurdle to overcome for the Midlands outfit is ending a seven-game sequence of FA Cup away defeats against fellow Premier League opponents, although they may hold a psychological edge as they arrive here with the chance to post three straight wins at the Bridge for the first time since 1960.
Players to watch: Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling thrives in this sphere, with his goal and assist against Preston in the third round bringing him up to 19 goal contributions across his last 20 FA Cup starts (G10, A9). As for Villa, Ollie Watkins is gunning for a third straight scoring appearance at Stamford Bridge after netting in wins ‘to nil’ in his last two visits.
Hot stat: Chelsea have just a 50% win-rate in 90 minutes of play of competitive action against Premier League clubs this season (W9, D2, L7).