Aston Villa Made it This Far in Fa Cup

Aston Villa made it though to the fourth round of the FA Cup after getting past Gillingham 2-1. They were paced with a pair of goals by James Milner.

This marks only the second time in the last eight years Aston Villa has made it this far in FA Cup action.

Milner tallied the winner with less than 15 minutes to go in the game with a penalty kick after Adam Miller was called for a foul on Ashley Young in the box.

Manager Martin O’Neill made it clear his side was serious about the FA Cup as he made only three changes from his Champions League lineup that beat Hull. Although Luke Young, Gareth Barry and Gabriel Agbonlahor sat out, the Villa side was still very strong and Gills did well holding up in the match.

The Gills put a scare in their Premier League opponents by evening the score 12 minutes into the second half. It was a well fought battle for Gillingham.

West Ham travel across London to the cauldron of Stamford Bridge today and have little chance of defying their 12/1 odds to beat Chelsea. Since West Ham’s re-promotion to the top flight in 2005/06, Chelsea have won all six league meetings between the sides and are 1/4 with BetUK to win again today.

With just four goals in six away games under former Chelsea player turned West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola, coupled with Chelsea’s defensive record against non-big four sides, and the chances of a home shut out look likely.