Aston Villavs.Cardiff

Though the hosts have been below their best in the Premier League, they are still on the hunt for silverware; meanwhile, their counterparts from the Welsh capital are intent on causing an upset.

Match preview

Enduring a tough Tuesday night in south London, Aston Villa succumbed to a 4-1 defeat against Crystal Palace last time out, putting another dent in their dreams of achieving Champions League qualification for a second straight season.

Villa were briefly on level terms when Morgan Rogers equalised soon after half time, but Palace then put three goals past stand-in stopper Robin Olsen, who had replaced injured number one Emiliano Martinez at the interval.

Now occupying 10th place in the Premier League table - albeit just a few points adrift of fifth - Unai Emery's side have let several points slip away this season, and without such errors they would sit as high as third.

Nonetheless, they remain in the mix for more European football next term and have a Champions League last-16 tie with Club Brugge to look forward to - the first leg takes place in Belgium next Tuesday.

Before the former European champions continue their quest in UEFA's top competition, they must first try to take one step closer to Wembley, with an eighth FA Cup triumph in their sights.

Villa have struggled to make the latter stages of late - they last reached the fifth round 10 years ago, before going on to lose against Arsenal in the final - but, having been handed a favourable home draw after beating West Ham United and then Tottenham Hotspur, Emery will expect to progress.

Ultimately, the Villans' Basque boss wants to end his club's almost three-decade wait for a major trophy, and the cup represents by far their best chance this season.

While it has been quite some time since Villa last got their hands on the FA Cup, Cardiff City's sole win was almost a century ago, in 1927. Since then, a team featuring 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey came closest when losing the 2008 final.

The Bluebirds have reached the fifth round for the first time in 11 years, following victories over fellow Championship sides Sheffield United and Stoke City - the latter via a dramatic penalty shootout after drawing 3-3.

Having then picked up just two points from three subsequent league games, Omer Riza's men welcomed relegation rivals Hull City to Wales on Tuesday, as the pair played out their game in hand on all three sides inside the second tier's drop zone.

Hanging onto a lead earned by Callum Robinson's second-half strike, Cardiff ground out a vital 1-0 win to overtake their opponents and climb up to 19th place in the table.

Now six points clear of the bottom three in a desperate scrap for survival, they are also unbeaten in six games on home turf; however, on the road they have won just one from 17.

Furthermore, they will head to Birmingham with the weight of history against them: across all competitions, Cardiff are winless in their last 15 visits to Villa Park, losing all of the last seven.

Aston Villa FA Cup form:

W

W

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

L

W

D

D

W

L

Cardiff City FA Cup form:

W

W

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

D

W

Team News

Amid a frantic run of fixtures in three competitions, Unai Emery is set to indulge in some squad rotation, with recent loan signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio fronting a queue for promotion from the bench.

His options will be relatively limited, though, as Aston Villa are still afflicted by several injuries: Pau Torres, Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are not expected to return until after the international break.

If there are any lingering doubts about the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was taken off midway through Tuesday's defeat at Selhurst Park, then Robin Olsen should deputise between the posts.

Meanwhile, Cardiff keeper Jak Alnwick was recently ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring, so United States international Ethan Horvath will start.

Ollie Tanner is also sidelined, in addition to Will Alves, David Turnbull, Jasper Daland and club captain Joe Ralls. Aaron Ramsey must manage his workload after a long layoff, so the Wales star may not play 90 minutes.

The visitors can recall centre-back Dimitrios Goutas after a ban, though, while ex-Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi will be keen to make an impact at his old home ground.

Set to feature in the final third, Republic of Ireland forward Callum Robinson has just matched his best scoring season, reaching 12 Championship goals for the first time since 2019.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Olsen; Garcia, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; McGinn, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Malen

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Fish; Rinomhota, Mannsverk, Ramsey, O'Dowda; El Ghazi, Robinson; Salech

We say: Aston Villa 2-1 Cardiff City

Cardiff's last Villa Park win dates back to December 1954, and that long wait for a victory will continue as they exit the FA Cup.

Villa may have eyes elsewhere - an important Champions League tie, and a faltering top-flight campaign - and their defence is often caught out, but they have too much firepower to suffer a humbling home defeat.

Written by

Jonathan O'Shea

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