Talismen
Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer find themselves amongst the Premier League’s top scorers to date.
Both will surely start tonight and can add to their season totals, having both continued in fine form.
And with the Euros in the summer, a run in the cup will help both.
Emery expecting ‘best Chelsea’
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is expectin ‘the best Chelsea’ to visit Villa Park tonight – as they’ve nothing else to play for.
He said: “We drew there but we struggled in the first half a lot, they were better than us. Progressively in the second half we were imposing our ideas, our gameplan, and we had chances as well to score and to win.
“But we didn’t deserve it. And they deserved more in the first half, it was a fantastic job by Emi Martínez, and defensively as well the team worked very well.
“I expect the best Chelsea because they got to the Carabao Cup final. For them, this competition is very important as well because they are not in Europe.”
Poch calls for time
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino’s future at Stamford Bridge has been much discussed following the past two results.
The Blues have conceded four goals TWICE since they played that 0-0 with Villa the first time around.
The defeat at Liverpool might have been expected but that was followed up with a home thumping by Wolves just last weekend.
But Poch reckons his side need more time to create a team having built the side ‘from zero’.
He said: “We are a young team and we need to be more mature to compete, that is why we need time and people need to understand that we need time.
“You can have good players but in the end, it is a collective sport. To create a team, to build a team is important.
“It’s like if you’re going to build a house, you need to be sure of every step you need to take. If you make a mistake at some point, after you bring in the nice furniture and start to move you find you have a problem.
“Always we need time and we are building from zero. Sometimes it looks like you move forward but then you need to go back because some problems appear. Always it takes time.”
ASTON VILLA VS CHELSEA
Good evening and welcome along to a huge night of FA Cup action as Aston Villa welcome Chelsea for a fourth round replay.
The sides played out a goalless draw a little under a fortnight ago at Stamford Bridge, forcing them to meet again here.
They’ve had what we’ll call ‘a mixed bag’ of results since then.
Villa actually also lot their unbeaten home record in the Premier League in the game that followed that draw in a thumping loss to Newcastle.
But for both, it’s huge that they reach the fifth round, with cup success surely a huge incentive this season.
