The first of this weekend’s FA Cup semi-finals takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening as Crystal Palace face Aston Villa.
Villa head into this game off the back of a last-gasp defeat to Manchester City. Matheus Nunes scored in the 94th minute to give City a 2-1 lead, boosting their top-five chances at the expense of the Villans.
Palace, meanwhile, have had one eye on this fixture for most of the month. They haven’t won any of their last four games but draws against Bournemouth and Arsenal last time out at least arrested a run of two heavy defeats in which they conceded five goals in each game.
This is Palace’s first appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals since 2022, when they lost to Chelsea 2-0. Palace last won an FA Cup semi-final in 2016, beating Watford 2-1. They lost the final to Manchester United that season. If Palace go one better, they will win the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
Aston Villa are seven-time winners of the FA Cup but their last success was in 1957. They reached the final in 2015, but lost 4-0 to Arsenal in the Wembley showpiece. This was their last FA Cup semi-final appearance too. They beat Liverpool 2-1.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS ASTON VILLA PREVIEW
Despite being five places and 12 points worse off, Palace have the upper hand when it comes to this season’s fixtures.
An Ismaïla Sarr brace, along with goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah, contributed to a 4-1 win at Selhurst Park back in February.
Earlier this season, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw at Villa Park. Sarr opened the scoring here, with Ollie Watkins equalising for Villa on 36 minutes. Justin Devenny restored Palace’s lead just before half-time but Ross Barkley struck 13 minutes from time.
The two sides also met in the League Cup back in October, with Palace registering a 2-1 win. Daichi Kamada scored the winning goal after Jhon Durán has cancelled out Eberechi Eze’s eighth minute effort.
Chris Richards will return from his one-match suspension for Crystal Palace. Sarr will also come back into the fray, having been rested in the midweek draw against Arsenal.
Mateta is likely to be rewarded for coming off the bench and scoring against the Gunners with a starting spot in attack. Expect him to act as lone striker, replacing Nketiah.
Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are still long-term absentees and won’t feature.
Aston Villa are at full strength, with the key question being whether Marcus Rashford will retain his place in the side. He scored against Man City and could be favoured over 16-goal striker Ollie Watkins.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS ASTON VILLA – PREDICTIONS
Crystal Palace Win
Palace have the advantage in recent head-to-heads and are unbeaten in their last four games against Villa. They also knocked the Midlands side out of the League Cup back in October. Their style of play has proven difficult for Villa to counteract, particularly under current boss Oliver Glasner.
Draw
Palace have drawn 12 Premier League games this season, joint-third with Brighton. Only Arsenal (13) and Everton (14) have had more stalemates. They are on a run of two straight draws against Bournemouth (0-0) and Arsenal (2-2).
Aston Villa Win
Villa are the stronger of the two teams based on league position and will be smarting after conceding a last-minute strike to City on Tuesday. They certainly have the strength in attack to cause Palace problems. An additional day of rest may also benefit them.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS ASTON VILLA – BETTING TIPS
Draw
Crystal Palace are draw specialists this season and frustrated Arsenal in midweek. They only had 32% possession and while Villa have a deeper squad, you can make the same case for the Gunners. Palace also have a strong recent record against the Villans, suggesting they have their number. FA Cup semi-finals are typically tight games so I expect this one to go to extra time.
Over 1.5 Goals
There have been over 1.5 goals in all of Aston Villa’s last nine matches in all competitions and six of Crystal Palace’s last seven. Both teams won their FA Cup quarter-finals with 0-3 score lines, so Over 2.5 Goals may not be a bad shout either. With Watkins and Rashford available for Villa and Mateta on hand for Palace, there should be goals in this game.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
- Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have played each other 56 times, with Palace winning 17. Villa have won 23 games while there have been 16 draws.
- Crystal Palace are on a four-match unbeaten run against Aston Villa in all competitions (W3 D1).
- Crystal Palace have only lost six of their last 23 games away from Selhurst Park.
- Aston Villa have lost six of their last eight visits to Wembley.
- Over 2.5 goals have been scored in all of Villa’s last nine matches.
