There was little time for Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea players to revel in reaching the Carabao Cup final as our focus at Cobham quickly shifted to tomorrow evening’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Aston Villa.

The world’s oldest club competition offers Chelsea a second opportunity to visit Wembley this season. However, several hurdles must be overcome, including Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge.

Unai Emery’s side has enjoyed a strong campaign thus far. They sit fourth in the Premier League and were victorious on their last visit to west London. It is why Pochettino will not take the Villans lightly.

‘I believe that Unai Emery is one of the best coaches in the world,’ the Chelsea boss said at his pre-match press conference. ‘He has created a very good organisation at Aston Villa.

Mauricio is in discussion with Enzo

‘They have very good players, amazing players, and it is very clear about the project. That is why they are performing and winning games. They have not surprised me.’

There was the welcome sight of Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku on the grass at Cobham this morning. Both players were involved in full training but will not be in contention to play tomorrow.

‘They could maybe be available for Liverpool on Wednesday,’ explained Pochettino. ‘We need to see how they progress in the next few days. We are positive, but we will see. They are not going to be available for tomorrow.’

Malo and Christo are working towards full fitness

Vice-captain Ben Chilwell returned to the side in midweek against Middlesbrough and was influential in his 60 minutes on the pitch. Whether the England international is ready to start back-to-back games is a decision Pochettino and his staff must make.

‘We have doubts about starting with him,’ admitted Pochettino. ‘We are assessing if he can cope with another game in three days. It is a massive decision because we want to build his confidence and fitness so he can be consistent and play the rest of the season.

‘We are working hard with the medical staff and the performance analysts to make the best decision. If he cannot start tomorrow, he is going to be on the bench, and we will see if he can help the team in the second half.’

Chilly, Djordje and Cole watch on

‘Chilly is very optimistic, very positive. He always wants to play, even when he is tired. But we need to be careful because, while the player always wants to play, it’s important to listen to the advice of the professionals in our medical and performance areas.

‘We always work together and listen to the advice. We were thinking maybe we play him tomorrow from the start, but we need to see if it is sensible.’

Also involved with the first-team group is Trevoh Chalobah. The Academy graduate has yet to feature for the Blues this season due to injury but is now in the reconditioning phase of his recovery.

Good to see you, Trev!

Following his two goals in midweek, Cole Palmer now has eleven for the campaign in Chelsea blue. It is an impressive return from our summer signing, who has quickly endeared himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful.

‘After six months, he is doing a very good job,’ said Pochettino this afternoon. ‘We are so happy with his impact, with his talent, of course, and with the way he is performing.

‘Always you expect when you sign a player that they can perform and they can help the team. The way that he is performing is fantastic because he’s helping the team achieve things that we wanted.

The boss passes on instructions