Within just two weeks of being appointed Paris Saint-Germain head coach in January 2021, Mauricio Pochettino won the first major honour of his managerial career, and the Argentine is now just 90 minutes away from collecting an elusive maiden trophy in English football.The Blues will compete for EFL Cup glory thanks to a 6-1 battering of Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, while their visitors Aston Villa coincidentally overcame the same opponents in FA Cup round three.After trying and failing to lead Tottenham Hotspur to silverware during a five-season spell, Mauricio Pochettino could mark his opening campaign at Stamford Bridge with an EFL Cup after Chelsea produced an emphatic comeback to end Middlesbrough’s magical run in the semi-finals.If the London Lions can transfer the enthusiasm from the less important cup to the one of the most respected in the world, the Argentinian has a chance to lift two trophies in England with the Blues in a short time period.Tonight, still on track for a domestic cup double, Chelsea seek a spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup when Aston Villa travel to Stamford Bridge.Guess who’s back? Just in time to make Man City’s defence shiver on Friday nightStill rebuilding the Stamford Bridge walls, Chelsea’s crushing of Middlesbrough represented the Blues’ seventh home win on the trot across all competitions, and the hosts are also on an eight-game Stamford Bridge winning streak in the FA Cup, but a perpetual knockout specialist will be barking orders from the visiting dugout this week.Meanwhile, the Lions of Birmingham let out a mighty roar as they finally wore down the Middlesbrough rearguard in their FA Cup third-round tie, which was on the cusp of going to a replay before fortune favored Emery’s men.Matty Cash’s late goal ended a gut-wrenching run of seven successive third-round exits for Aston Villa since they last reached round four in 2015-16.Not since 2010 have Chelsea and Villa shared the spoils in a goalless draw, though, and the Villans also clinched back-to-back wins and back-to-back clean sheets over the Blues at Stamford Bridge in 2023, offering hope to the visiting faithful that Emery’s crop can subject the EFL Cup finalists to a rude awakening.With just 72 hours to play with in between cup contests, Pochettino and his medical team must conduct rigorous assessments of all of Tuesday’s starters, but no serious fitness concerns are believed to have arisen from the thrashing of Middlesbrough.##EDITORS_CHOICE##However, none of Christopher Nkunku (hip), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Robert Sanchez (knee), Wesley Fofana (ACL), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Malo Gusto (unspecified) or Reece James (thigh) will exit the treatment room over the next couple of days, while Nicolas Jackson is still on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.Pochettino may have Nkunku and Gusto back at his disposal for next week’s battle with Liverpool, though, and the Blues boss has also admitted that Ben Chilwell may have to make do with a substitute outing as he builds up his fitness levels.Similarly, Aston Villa are working around the absence of one Africa Cup of Nations representative in the shape of Bertrand Traore, whose Burkina Faso side qualified for the knockout stages in second place in Group D, meaning that he will be absent for a little while longer.Cole Palmer has already scored more goals this season than any of Chelsea’s top scorers in 2022-23 🥶 pic.twitter.com/7ozteVu7ot— LiveScore (@livescore) January 26, 2024 Long-term knee victims Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings will not be returning any time soon, while Lucas Digne’s thigh issue should keep him out as well, and all of Pau Torres (ankle), Jacob Ramsey (thigh) and Robin Olsen (unspecified) remain sidelined.After witnessing an underwhelming display from Moussa Diaby against Everton, Emery may have been tempted to introduce Jhon Duran alongside Ollie Watkins in West London, but the Chelsea-linked Colombian has also been ruled out for several weeks with an injury.Given Chelsea’s see-saw form on all fronts and Villa’s confidence against the London club – we are up for an uncertain evening at the Bridge.FA CUP ThursdayBournemouth – Swansea 5-0 (5-0)/Kelly 7, Scott 10, Sinisterra 14, Brooks 35, Solanke 44/Friday 22.45: (2.00) Chelsea (3.50) Aston Villa (3.70)22.45: (3.60) Sheffield W. (3.45) Coventry (2.05)22.45: (3.10) Bristol City (3.30) Nott.Forest (2.35)23.00: (4.80) Tottenham (3.90) Man.City (1.70)Saturday 15.30: (1.10) Ipswich (11.0) Maidstone Utd (18.0)18.00: (1.35) Leeds (5.30) Plymouth (8.00)18.00: (5.60) Sheffield Utd (3.90) Brighton (1.62)18.00: (1.45) Leicester (4.50) Birmingham (7.00)18.00: (1.53) Everton (4.10) Luton (6.50)22.00: (3.05) Fulham (3.45) Newcastle (2.30)Sunday 14.45: (3.80) WBA (3.45) Wolverhampton (2.00)17.00: (3.35) Watford (3.45) Southampton (2.15)17.30: (1.17) Liverpool (8.00) Norwich (14.0)19.30: (18.0) Newport (11.0) Man.Utd. (1.10)Monday 22.30: (1.65) Blackburn (4.00) Wrexham (5.20)***odds are subject to change
