Chelsea vs Aston Villa Prediction & Betting Tips

Stamford Bridge hosts Chelsea and Aston Villa this Friday in an all-Premier League Fourth Round tie in the FA Cup. The hosts have had a season to forget, the Cups being their only chance for silverware and Villa will be looking to replicate their dominance in the league in the Cup.

• Aston Villa to win @ 2/1 on William Hill
• Under 2.5 goals @ 3/4 on Paddy Power
• Both teams to score @ 3/1 on William Hill

These odds are accurate at the time of publication and may be subject to change.

Chelsea look to challenge their poor league form back in the FA Cup as they take on one of the high-flying sides of the Premier League this season. Villa have proven themselves in Europe so far this season, but will be looking for a long run in the FA Cup as well.

In the Premier League, Chelsea currently sit ninth after 21 games. The Blues have nine wins, four draws and eight losses, leaving them on 31 points, one point from Manchester United and nine points from Tottenham in the last European spot.

Chelsea have a good history in the FA Cup, having won it on eight occasions. In fact, in the last five seasons, Chelsea have reached the Final on three occasions but have lost all three, to Arsenal, Leicester and Liverpool respectively.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, currently sit fourth in the Premier League. In 21 games, Villa have 13 wins, four draws and four losses. This leaves them on 43 points, equal with Arsenal and Manchester City and two points behind the league leaders Liverpool.

Villa have also gotten their hands on the FA Cup, twice in their history, all the way back in 1895 and 1957. Since then Villa have made the Final twice, in 2000, losing to Chelsea 1 - 0, and in 2015, where they lost 4 - 0 to FA Cup experts Arsenal. In the last five seasons, Villa have failed to impress in the FA Cup, exiting at the Third Round five times.

Chelsea and Aston Villa have met 103 times in their histories, the first meeting coming all the way back in 1907. The Blues have the slightly better record with 68 wins in comparison to Villa’s 60 wins, with the other 35 games ending in a draw.

In the last five games between the two, Villa have won twice and Chelsea have won three times. In three of these games, only one side was on the scoresheet, and in only one of those games was there only one goal.

Chelsea Team News

Mauricio Pochettino has Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah and Lesley Ugochukwu unavailable through injury. The Argentine is also missing Nicolas Jackson at the African Cup of Nations.

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery has Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne unavailable, though Robin Olsen, Jacob Ramsey and Pau Torres could return. Villa also have a player at the African Cup of Nations, that being Bertrand Traore.

In their last six games in all competitions, Chelsea have five wins and one loss.

Mykhailo Mudryk opened the scoring for Chelsea in their London Derby against Crystal Palace, but The Eagles were level before halftime through a goal from Michael Olise. In the last minute of normal time, Noni Madueke had the opportunity to grab the winner and converted the penalty for the 2 - 1 win.

A brace from Cole Palmer and a goal from Madueke saw Chelsea in a comfortable 3 - 0 lead going into the last ten minutes. However, former Chelsea player Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo both scored in the last ten minutes. A nervy period of extra time saw Chelsea hold on for the 3 - 2 win.

In the Third Round of the FA Cup, Chelsea hosted Championship Preston. After a poor first half, Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez all scored in the second half to grab the 4 - 0 win.

The first leg of the League Cup Semi-Final saw Chelsea travel to the Riverside to take on Middlesbrough. Despite having 72% of the possession and 18 shots, Chelsea were unable to find the back of the net and a goal from Hayden Hackney gave Middlesbrough the 1 - 0 win going into the second leg.

Back in the Premier League, Chelsea hosted Fulham in the West London Derby. Chelsea had 17 shots, but with only three on target, and had to rely on the first-half penalty from Palmer to give them the 1 - 0 win and all three points.

On Tuesday Chelsea thrashed Middlesbrough 6-1 in the second-leg of their League Cup semi-final thanks to goals by Jonny Howson (own goal), Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi, Cole Palmer (2) and Noni Madueke.

In their last five games in all competitions, Aston Villa have two wins, two draws and one loss.

Aston Villa completely dominated the struggling Sheffield United, with 78% of the possession, but it was The Blades who went ahead. Cameron Archer scored in the 87th minute for Sheffield United but a 97th-minute goal from Nicolo Zaniolo grabbed a 1 - 1 draw for Villa.

John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker both scored in the first half as Villa raced to a 2 - 0 lead against Manchester United. However, a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a goal for Rasmus Hojlund gave United the unlikely 3 - 2 comeback win.

Aston Villa bounced back against Burnley. Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby both scored in the first half to give Villa the 2 - 1 lead at halftime, with Zeki Amdouni on the scoresheet for Burnley. Despite the red card to Sander Berge, Burnley were next to score, with Lyle Foster finding the back of the net to make it level. However, a late penalty from Douglas Luiz gave Villa the 3 - 2 win.

In the Third Round of the FA Cup, Villa took on Middlesbrough. Matty Cash scored the only goal of the game in the 87th minute to give Villa the 1 - 0 win.

The most recent outing for Villa was against Everton. Despite having 16 shots, with five on target, Aston Villa couldn’t find a goal and both sides settled for the 0 - 0 draw and a point.

Chelsea are somewhat improving as the season has progressed but Villa have been a strong team all season long. It’s likely to be a tight game with one goal deciding the winner. We predict: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa is not being broadcasted in the U.K. but can be kept up with on BBC Five Live on the radio.

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