Chelsea’s FA Cup fourth round replay against Aston Villa one of two tournament re-runs picked for television

Chelsea‘s visit to Villa Park for their FA Cup fourth round replay match against Aston Villa is one of two fixtures chosen for television by the broadcasters. 

The west London side were unable to secure a result at home in a cagey 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on Friday, and will instead have to travel to the Midlands on Wednesday February 7 to play for a spot in the fifth round. 

Their tie will be shown on ITV1, whereas Plymouth Argyle’s replay against Leeds United will feature the evening before on Tuesday February 6 on BBC One, with both clubs in the ties receiving a £55,000 live broadcast fee. 

Also being replayed that week are Sheffield Wednesday’s journey to Coventry after securing a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, Bristol City’s clash with Nottingham Forest which ended goalless in the West Country, and Watford versus Southampton, which ended 1-1. 

Everton‘s Saturday hosting of Luton looked a likely contender to also stay undecided another two weeks, with both sides at loggerheads in a 1-1 draw, until Cauley Woodrow shuffled in the winner six minutes into injury time at Goodison Park. 

Chelsea will travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa after ending their FA Cup fourth round encounter goalless

The two replays picked for television have been drawn against one another in the fifth round, with that tie currently a total unknown.  

Pochettino lamented his side’s apparent lack of clinical edge in stark contrast to their 6-1 rout of Middlesbrough in their Carabao Cup semi-final days earlier, but had little to criticise in their overall performance at home. 

‘I think it was a very good game,’ Pochettino told BBC Sport after the final whistle. ‘I think we dominated more of the beginning, then in the second half, after 70 minutes, we start to drop our energy.

‘I am so happy with the performance of the whole team, I think the performance was good we just weren’t clinical enough.

‘For them to face a team like Aston Villa who are doing fantastic in the Premier League and are in the top four, I think it’s a very good signal that we are improving.’

Already confirmed for the fifth round are eight of the eleven still in the competition, with two of the fixtures all-Premier League affairs. 

Mauricio Pochettino was largely happy with his team performance but lamented a lack of clinical edge

Luton will host Manchester City at Kenilworth Road, and Wolves will play Brighton after their incendiary Black Country derby on Sunday. 

Elsewhere, Newcastle will travel to Blackburn Rovers, Bournemouth will welcome Leicester, Liverpool will play either Watford or Southampton, and Manchester United will be watching for the outcome of Bristol City versus Forest.