In the games that followed Chelsea's defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve, Mauricio Pochettino appeared as if he was starting to steady the ship and to give him credit, winning five of seven games and securing the Blues a place in the League Cup final was genuinely impressive.

However, the Pensioners' previous two Premier League games have utterly eviscerated any feeling of goodwill starting to spring up around Stamford Bridge.

The first saw the Blues fall to a 4-1 defeat away to Anfield that could, and maybe should, have been worse, and then on Sunday, Pochettino oversaw his side lose 4-2 at home to Wolves.

With the fans now chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich at home games and the results being what they are, it is starting to feel like the Argentine is on borrowed time in west London. Still, with an FA Cup Fourth Round replay up next, he has a slim chance of earning more time.

With so much resting on this meeting with Aston Villa, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager is unlikely to make too many drastic changes to his starting XI, with at most two personnel and one positional change to the side that lost on the weekend.

1 GK – Đorđe Petrović

The man between the sticks for Chelsea on Wednesday night will be Đorđe Petrović.

The Serbian international was given a chance following Robert Sanchez's injury against Everton in December and has been rather impressive ever since.

The only other fit shot stoppers in the squad are Marcus Bettinelli and Lucas Bergstrom, and it feels unlikely that they would be given a chance in such an important game.

2 RB – Alfie Gilchrist

The first change comes at right-back, as the performance of Malo Gusto on Sunday was so dreadful that Pochettino simply has to drop him for Villa.

The former Lyon man gave away a penalty and was given a 3/10 for his performance by The Standard's Nizaar Kinsella as he 'kept putting Chelsea in danger with his passing.'

After performing admirably against Villa in the FA Cup last month, Alfie Gilchrist also deserves another start in the team.

Plus, if club legend John Terry thinks he's "unbelievable", he must have something about him.

3 CB – Axel Disasi

Keeping his place in the side at right centre-back is former AS Monaco man Axel Disasi.

However, this decision is more down to a lack of quality alternatives than anything else.

The Frenchman wasn't great on Sunday, but Levi Colwill is still out, and the performance of Benoît Badiashile against Liverpool was genuinely shambolic, with pundit Gabby Agbonlahor particularly scathing of the Frenchman's performance on The Sports Breakfast (via GOAL), saying: "Badiashile, the centre half, he gave probably the worst centre-half performance I've seen in the Premier League in the last two seasons."

4 CB – Thiago Silva

Another defensive survivor from Sunday's massacre at the Bridge is Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star got on the scoresheet and is still one of Pochettino's more reliable players.

Considering he has started 91% of the team's league games, it would be shocking if he were rested for a match as important as this.

5 LB – Ben Chilwell

With no Colwill or Marc Cucurella to call upon, it's Ben Chilwell who'll likely be given the nod to start at left-back.

The former Leicester City man has only started 26% of the team's league games this season, but that is more down to his poor injury record than anything to do with how Pochettino rates him.

6 DM – Moises Caicedo

Now, this could be a controversial choice given his abysmal showing on Sunday, but Moises Caicedo is still likely to start in midfield on Wednesday evening.

The Ecuadorian may have picked up an assist against Wolves, but The Standard's Kinsella gave him a 3/10 for his performance, citing that he 'was caught in possession multiple times, including for Cunha's equaliser.'

Ultimately, there aren't many other options to pick instead of the 22-year-old and with his label as the most expensive Premier League signing ever hanging over his head, he needs to play himself back into form.

7 DM – Enzo Fernández

Unsurprisingly, Enzo Fernández will form the pairing at the heart of Chelsea's midfield against Villa.

The World Cup winner struggled like the rest of his side on Sunday, but considering his importance to the team and the fact that he has started 100% of FA Cup games thus far and 78% of Premier League games, it would be shocking not to see him involved from the first whistle at Villa Park.

8 CAM – Conor Gallagher

Disappointing on Sunday, but a firm fan favourite nonetheless and a tireless runner for Pochettino, Conor Gallagher keeps his place as the side's primary attacking midfielder on Wednesday.

However, he'll have to do a lot better in possession than he did against Wolves, as his clumsiness is why Kinsella could only give him a 4/10.

9 RM – Cole Palmer

If there is a Chelsea player who'll likely come out of this season with a better reputation than they started it with, it's Cole Palmer.

The former Manchester City youngster joined the Blues in the summer and has arguably been the one bright spot in their season – registering 21 goals and assists in all competitions.

He was on the scoresheet again on Sunday, so it would be utterly perplexing if he didn't start on the right-hand side again at Villa Park.

10 LM – Christopher Nkunku

The second significant change to the starting line-up will come on the left-hand side, as Christopher Nkunku replaces Raheem Sterling.

The Englishman had a shocker against Wolves on Sunday and missed a golden opportunity to pull the Blues level in the game, something Kinsella noted when giving him a 4/10.

Nkunku didn't have the best of times up front either, but he needs time to adapt to the Premier League, and with plenty of experience playing on the left wing in the past, he seems like the logical replacement for Sterling.