Aston Villa vs. Chelsea: Key Jose Mourinho Takeaways from Pre-Match Presser

Jose Mourinho has confirmed Chelsea are in no rush to extend Eden Hazard's contract. The Blues boss spoke in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side's Saturday trip to face Aston Villa.

Chelsea's official Twitter account and Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur confirmed Mourinho's relaxed stance on Hazard's future:

The manager's comments arrived on his return from a media blackout, in which he failed to speak to the press before and after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, as reported by James Whaling of the Mirror. This came after the Portuguese boss was fined £25,000 by the FA after insinuating referees have a "campaign" against Chelsea.

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Despite his reappearance, Mourinho wasn't particularly pleased to come face-to-face with journalists ahead of the Villa tie, per Sam Wallace of The Independent:

The Press Association (via the Guardian) provided more detail on Mourinho's media blackout:

"

Asked why he had not spoken to the media since advancing to the Capital One Cup final at Liverpool’s expense on 27 January, Mourinho said: 'Because if you want, you can make a silence very noisy. Depends what you want to do.

'You could make noise with my silence, because you know the reason for my silence. It depends on you. If I was a journalist I could make from silence, lots of words.'

[...]

Asked if the reason for his absence was because of Costa’s suspension, which continues at Aston Villa on Saturday, Mourinho, who chose not to discuss the incident, said: 'Not just [Costa’s ban]. I don’t reflect. Maybe I’m punished to reflect.

'Maybe they [football’s authorities] can read my reflection and that I don’t want.'

"

Darren Lewis of the Mirror poked fun using a certain Marshawn Lynch quote after Mourinho's grumpy discussion:

The Premier League leaders can travel to Villa in optimistic spirits. Paul Lambert's side are painfully shy in front of goal this season, scoring just 11 in 23 Premier League matches, according to WhoScored. This means the Midlands side averages a successful strike once every 188 minutes—just over every two fixtures.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Chelsea have only conceded 20 this campaign—once every 106 minutes—so they will be looking to ensure their back line isn't breached in a match they are heavy favourites to win.

Saturday's tie could see winter signing Juan Cuadrado make his debut for the club. Mourinho acknowledged the player's versaility, per football writer Jack Rathborn:

It's a possibility that Cuadrado will slot straight into a left-back role after Filipe Luis was ruled out, per Chelsea's feed:

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Manchester City take on Hull City at the Etihad during their next outing, so it's pivotal Mourinho's men win by any means necessary when they take to the field against Villa. The Blues have lost two of the last five away matches and simply can't afford to let Manuel Pellegrini's side make up any extra ground.

Failure to beat Villa could see Chelsea's lead cut to just two points at the top. This would eliminate the team's margin for error ahead of a tricky tie against Everton, meaning Mourinho's side must remain professionally ruthless during Saturday's game.