FA Cup Preview: Can Villa flip script against Palace in semifinal matchup?

We’re down to the final four of the FA Cup. 

This weekend’s FA Cup semifinals features a pair of all-Premier League clashes and will determine which two teams will advance to the final on May 17. 

Crystal Palace clashes with Aston Villa on Saturday (12:15 p.m. ET), while Nottingham Forest goes up against Manchester City on Sunday (11:30 a.m. ET). Both games will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium, which also hosts the final.  

Manchester United’s elimination at the hands of Fulham in the fifth round means the Red Devils won’t repeat as winners of English soccer’s oldest and most prestigious cup competition. 

Here’s what you need to know about the FA Cup semifinals.  

The format     

Both semifinals are single elimination, and not two-legged, home-and-away affairs.     

If the games are tied after 90 minutes of regulation, they will go to extra time and penalty kicks (if necessary) to determine who moves on. Similar to the previous rounds, there are no replays in the semifinals.  

CRYSTAL PALACE vs. ASTON VILLA  

Setting the stage for Saturday  

Aston Villa currently sits seventh in the Premier League table, just three points out of a top four spot with only four matches remaining on the schedule. The Villans were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League earlier this month, so the FA Cup represents Spanish manager Unai Emery’s last chance to lead his club to a trophy this season. 

Crystal Palace occupies 12th place in the Premier League table, 12 points off the pace of Aston Villa. But Palace eliminated Villa in the fourth round of this season’s League Cup and has taken four out of a possible six points off of them in the Premier League, highlighted by a 4-1 home win in February when Senegalese forward Ismaïla Sarr scored a brace. 

How they arrived at the semifinals  

After defeating Premier League rivals West Ham United and Tottenham, Aston Villa shut out Cardiff City of the Championship (England’s second division) in the fifth round and then followed that up with another clean sheet victory over third-tier Preston North End in the quarter-finals. 

Crystal Palace’s path to the final four has been equally smooth. The London-based club dispatched Stockport County (third division), Doncaster Rovers (fourth division) and Millwall (second division) before blanking fellow Premier League outfit Fulham 3-0 in the quarter-finals. 

Players to watch  

On loan from Manchester United, English forward Marcus Rashford ended a four-month scoring drought in the quarterfinals when he bagged a pair of goals in Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over Preston North End. Forward Eddie Nketiah has scored in each of Crystal Palace’s last two FA Cup matches. 

Burning questions  

Aston Villa has reached the FA Cup semifinals on 11 occasions in their history, but this is their first trip to the final four since beating Liverpool in 2014-15. Can Villa overcome Palace to reach the FA Cup final for the first time in a decade? 

This weekend marks Crystal Palace’s sixth appearance in the semifinals, reaching the final in 1990 and 2016. Can the Eagles earn their first ever FA Cup win over Villa to qualify for the final for the third time? 

Key numbers to remember  

Aston Villa is winless in its last four matches (three losses) in all competitions vs. Crystal Palace, conceding 13 goals along the way. One of those three wins for Palace came when they knocked Villa out of the Leagues Cup earlier this season. But Villa has defeated Palace in all three of their previous FA Cup meetings. 

NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs. MANCHESTER CITY  

Setting the stage for Sunday  

There’s no question that this match is the highlight of the FA Cup semifinal weekend. Manchester City currently sits in third place in the Premier League, just one point and one spot above Nottingham Forest, although Forest has a game in hand on the Blues. 

Man City earned a convincing 3-0 home win over Forest in the Premier League in December, but the Reds exacted a measure of revenge with a 1-0 win at the City Ground last month. 

How they arrived at the semifinals  

Manchester City hammered fourth-division outfit Salford City 8-0, and then brushed aside Leyton Orient (third division) and Plymouth Argyle (second division) before besting fellow Premier League club Bournemouth in the quarter-finals. 

Similarly, Nottingham Forest recorded wins over lower-division opponents in Luton Town and Exeter City and then got the better of Premier League rivals Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion to advance to the semifinals. 

Players to watch  

Kevin De Bruyne announced earlier this month his plans to leave Manchester City at the end of this season, so Sunday could mark his final FA Cup appearance for the Blues. De Bruyne has 10 career goals in the FA Cup, including two in this year’s edition. 

Goalkeeper Matz Sels made two saves in Nottingham Forest’s penalty shootout win in the quarterfinals. He’ll likely have to come up with similar heroics in order to help Forest secure its first berth in the FA Cup final since 1991. 

Burning questions  

Nottingham Forest have already defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the Premier League. Can they register two wins against City in the same season for the first time since 1989-90? 

Manchester City enters this weekend on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Can they make it eight in a row to book their spot in next month’s final? 

Key numbers to remember  

Manchester City has reached the FA Cup semifinals in each of the previous six seasons, winning three and losing three. They are attempting to reach the finals for a third consecutive time for the first time in their history. Nottingham Forest’s last appearance in the final four came in 1990-91 when they beat West Ham United under legendary manager Brian Clough. They went on to lose to Tottenham in the final.