((FA Cup Live Stream>>!) Chelsea vs Aston Villa Live Free Online Broadcast 7 February 2024
Chelsea vs. Aston Villa FREE LIVE STREAM (2/7/2024): Watch English FA Cup online | Time, TV, channel. Aston Villa and Chelsea lock horns in their FA Cup fourth-round replay at Villa Park on Wednesday, with the winner setting up a Fifth Round home tie against either Leeds United or Plymouth Argyle.
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The two teams played out a goalless draw in their original FA Cup fourth-round tie in West London, but they head into this meeting at Villa Park in differing moods.
The Blues arrive in low spirits, having sustained a damaging 4-2 home defeat to free-scoring Wolves on Sunday, a result that saw them slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table. The result came just four days after their chastening 4-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield with manager Mauricio Pochettino feeling the heat at Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, seem to be in good shape to progress to the next round of the FA Cup, having secured their biggest away win in the Premier League since 2018 over the weekend in the 5-0 beating of relegation-threatened Sheffield United.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: English FA Cup
Who: Chelsea vs. Aston Villa
When: Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham, England
TV: ESPN+
Aston Villa host Chelsea in an FA Cup fourth round replay today, precipitated by a breathless goalless draw that saw Youri Tielemans and Cole Palmer miss a sitter apiece. Who will face Leeds in the fifth round?
Villa were on a downward trajectory and Chelsea on the up when they faced off two weeks ago. How things have changed. The Blues were jeered off by their own fans at the weekend following a comprehensive beatdown by Wolves, and even though they have a final to look forward to at the end of the month, there's a sense that the walls are closing in on Mauricio Pochettino.
Unai Emery's men, meanwhile, vented recent frustrations by battering Sheffield United. While any Premier League title talk was always far-fetched, that's not the case for the FA Cup. They won their last piece of major silverware 28 years ago, and if any manager looked capable of ending that drought, it's Emery.
It's worth remembering, however, that Villa had won just one of six games before the weekend, with opponents managing to work out their high-risk high line. Then again, these Chelsea players have repeatedly proved themselves incapable of following a tactical gameplan.
Chelsea will be desperate to bounce back as they travel to take on Aston Villa in an FA Cup fourth-round replay tonight. The Blues have slipped back into an all-too-familiar crisis after Sunday’s appalling 4-2 home defeat by Wolves that followed hot on the heels of a similar thrashing up at Liverpool to pile pressure back on under-fire head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine could really use a result this evening to ease some of that mounting speculation over his future, with the initial tie between these sides at Stamford Bridge back on January 26 having ended in a frustrating goalless draw. Villa continue to fly high in the Premier League’s top four under Unai Emery and remain just five points off top spot after thrashing struggling Sheffield United 5-0 at the weekend in a hopelessly one-sided game in which they were 4-0 up inside the first half an hour at Bramall Lane.
The prize on offer for tonight’s winners is a home meeting with Leeds in round five after the Championship promotion-chasers saw off Plymouth 4-1 in extra time on Tuesday night. Follow Aston Villa vs Chelsea live below, featuring expert analysis
Unai Emery revealed at his own pre-match press conference on Tuesday that Aston Villa would be without England centre-back Ezri Konsa for around three or four weeks with a sprained knee suffered in Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Premier League strugglers Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Villa boss Unai Emery has plenty of injury concerns for Wednesday's replay, with Emiliano Buendia (knee), Tyrone Mings (knee), and Chelsea target Jhon Duran (hamstring) sidelined for the long-term, while Pau Torres (ankle), Lucas Digne (thigh), and Nicolo Zaniolo (unspecified) are also expected to miss out this game.
Winter recruit from Middlesbrough, attacker Morgan Rodgers came off the bench at Bramall Lane, but he is cup-tied for this one. Bertrand Traore has also parted ways with the club, joining La Liga side Villarreal on a free transfer after having his contract terminated at Villa Park.
The Blues, meanwhile, remain without a raft of key players. Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (knee), Robert Sanchez (knee), Reece James (thigh), Marc Cucurella (ankle) and Romeo Lavia (quadriceps) are still sidelined.
Levi Colwill's tendon problem is not believed to be serious, but a decision will be made on the defender's availability late before the game. Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) is back in full training, but this game may come too soon for him.
Pochettino will welcome the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Benoit Badiashile, and Nicolas Jackson back from the Africa Cup of Nations, though.
Still, they have enjoyed success in the cup competitions this season - having reached the Carabao Cup final - and they could yet prove to be Pochettino’s saviour.
A 4-2 weekend Premier League defeat to Wolves is likely to mean changes for Pochettino with Levi Colwill back from injury. Nicolas Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk could also start after coming off the bench at Molineux.
Only a few days have passed since Chelsea were beaten against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge and it led to a lot of the home supporters booing the team off. A lot of fans appear to have turned on Pochettino on social media which makes this evening's match even more critical.
The Argentine admitted after the game on Sunday that he and his players need to dramatically improve if they are to meet the high standards that have been set at the club. Firstly, they will have to do it tonight at Villa Park.
Unai Emery's side are still one of the best in England, but their recent form has been a bit spotty. They have just two wins in their last five and outside of Saturday's 5-0 win over Sheffield United, scored just two more goals during that stretch. They will still be favored over Chelsea considering the opposition's roller coaster of a season, especially with their top talents like Ollie Watkins, who has 11 goals and 10 assists in Premier League play so far this season.
The two sides played out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge last month and are battling for a spot in the fifth round against Leeds. That looks like a winnable task for either Premier League side, though they head into the meeting at Villa Park in differing moods.
While the cup competitions have been something of a saviour for the Blues this season, Pochettino’s side have conceded eight goals in their last two games including a 4-2 home loss to Wolves last time out.
Villa will have to make a decision on both Pau Torres and Nicolo Zaniolo after they missed the win over Sheffield United, while both Lucas Digne and former Chelsea target Jhon Duran are injured. Ezri Konsa will be missing for around a month, too.
The Blues, meanwhile, remain without a raft of key players. Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Robert Sanchez, Lesley Ugochukwu and Marc Cucurella are all injured.
Levi Colwill’s problem is not believed to be serious but he will likely miss the game, along with Trevoh Chalobah. They, however, could be back in time for Monday's Premier League game with Crystal Palace.