Chelsea – Aston Villa: Stalemate Of Two Halves (0-0)

Chelsea had the better of proceedings in the first half as they restricted Aston Villa with their pressing, and were able to create the better attacks using the width and depth in their possession system. In the second half however, the tables were turned, and it was Villa who had the better of things going forward, finding some solutions with the ball and pressing higher against Chelsea’s possession. Ultimately though, neither side was able to find a breakthrough.
Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

The last sixteen of the FA Cup saw Chelsea hosting Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa. Chelsea had already seen domestic cup action earlier in the week as they reached the EFL Cup Final with their demolition of Middlesbrough, while Aston Villa had enjoyed a twelve-day break since their last outing, a 0-0 draw with Everton.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape for this game, with a back four of Alfie Gilchrist, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Benoît Badiashile. Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández were the double pivot, with Connor Gallagher playing further forward as the number ten. Noni Madueke and Raheem Sterling played the wide roles, while Cole Palmer led the line up front, looking to continue his impressive goalscoring form.

As for Aston Villa, Unai Emery’s side lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Clément Lenglet, and Àlex Moreno in the back four. John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara, and Youri Tielemans made up the midfield quartet, while Moussa Diaby supported Ollie Watkins up front.

Chelsea show promise
The first half generally saw Chelsea having . . .