Aston Villa welcome Chelsea to Villa Park on Wednesday night, in what is set to be a thriller in the decisive replay of the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Blues held Unai Emery’s high-flying Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge last month, in what was an evenly contested affair, despite Mauricio Pochettino’s side dominating possession with 57% of the ball.
After returning to winning ways against Sheffield United on Saturday in the Premier League, the Midlands side will go into the fixture with high confidence, particularly after reviewing the opposition’s dreary 4-2 loss to Wolves.
Despite thriving in the Premier League this season, Emery will naturally be yearning to deliver Villa some overdue silverware, which is still on the cards in both the Europa Conference League and the FA Cup, making Wednesday’s fixture a big one.
Following the devastating news of Ezri Konsa’s knee injury against Sheffield United that will leave him sidelined for “three to four weeks”, changes will be made to the XI ahead of the clash with the Blues.
Here’s our predicted line-up for Aston Villa’s FA Cup showdown with Chelsea…
Aston Villa predicted XI vs Chelsea
Unsurprisingly, Emi Martinez is expected to keep his place between the posts against the Blues.
The Argentine was dubbed “amazing” by Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino in the stalemate at Stamford Bridge, and will be crucial for Emery’s side to limit threat.
Changes are expected most at the back with Konsa and Lucas Digne out of contention, the manager could opt to play a central pairing of Diego Carlos and Clement Lenglet, with Alex Moreno and Matty Cash as the full-backs.
One strength in the back line is the return of the “magnificent” Pau Torres, as lauded by Pat Nevin on the Football Daily Podcast, who Emery has confirmed will feature on the bench after returning to training following a recurring ankle injury.
In midfield, the pairing of Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz looks set to be untouched to duel the lucrative pivot of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
After their contribution to the goals on Saturday, John McGinn, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans are the most likely trio to sit behind Ollie Watkins, with Tielemans’ claim to start over Moussa Diaby strengthened by his performance last time out.
Chelsea will be unhappy to see Watkins leading the line, after the Englishman decided the Premier League match-up between the two sides back in September during Villa’s 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
New signing Morgan Rogers made his debut on Saturday against the Blades and could feature from the bench to allow for rotation at the top.
