FA Cup news: Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace – Five key battles and score prediction

Wembley Stadium hosts the first FA Cup semi-final of the season on Saturday, with Aston Villa taking on Crystal Palace for a place in the final.

Both sets of fans will be desperate to end their domestic trophy droughts, with the Villans’ last domestic trophy coming in 1996 and Palace having never won a major trophy since they were founded in 1861.

After being knocked out of the Champions League by PSG in the quarter-finals, Unai Emery will be looking to finish the season strong and become the first manager to bring a trophy back to Villa Park since Brian Little led the Villans to League Cup success in 1996.

Crystal Palace have been the runner-up in this competition twice, with their most recent final appearance coming in the 2015-16 season, when they lost 2-1 to Manchester United after extra-time.

Fast forward to the present day, manager Oliver Glasner will be hoping to take the Eagles to the next level – and they have an excellent chance to do so this weekend, hopefully without a dance on the Wembley sideline this time.

Ahead of the huge semi-final, Sports News Blitz writer Dylan Richardson analyses five key battles that could decide the game and offers a score prediction.

Marcus Rashford vs Maxence Lacroix

Two of Rashford’s three goals for Aston Villa came in the quarter-final against Preston.

Since joining on loan from Manchester United in January, the 27-year-old has impressed and will be looking to continue his good form in the semi-final on Saturday. 

Rashford’s main attributes are his direct running and skill, completing an above-average 40.4% of take-ons over the last year.

In addition to a good dribble success rate, he ranks in the top 10 for fastest speed in the Premier League this season, being recorded at 35.5km/h, and that makes him a handful for anyone to defend against. 

After Crystal Palace sold star defender Joachim Andersen to London rivals Fulham in the summer, they turned to the Bundesliga to bring in Maxence Lacroix as his replacement. 

Despite Andersen arguably being the Eagles’ most important defender in the 2023-24 season, replacing him with Lacroix has proved to be good business.

The 25-year-old has averaged an impressive 2.2 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes this season.

Where this battle becomes really interesting, however, is the duel of speed – Lacroix ranks as the fourth-fastest defender in the league this season, clocking a speed of 35.8km/h. 

READ MORE: FA Cup news: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City – Five key battles and score prediction

Youri Tielemans vs Adam Wharton

The free signing of Youri Tielemans in 2023 will go down as one of the best deals in recent Premier League history.

At 1.54 key passes and 0.16 expected assists per 90 minutes this season, the 27-year-old Belgian international has become one of the best creative midfielders in the league. 

Tielemans has previous success in the FA Cup, lifting the trophy with Leicester City in 2021, so his experience in winning big games could have a huge effect on this semi-final clash. 

On the topic of great signings, Crystal Palace’s acquisition of Adam Wharton from Blackburn in January last year for around £20 million has also proved to be a shrewd piece of business. 

While the 20-year-old has missed the majority of this season through injury, when he has played, Wharton has proved himself to be one of the best holding midfielders in the Premier League, being effective both defensively and as a ball progresser. 

In the last year, Wharton has averaged 2.9 tackles and 7.6 progressive passes per game, ranking him in the top 15% for midfielders in Europe in both metrics, so the battle between the midfielders could be decisive in deciding Saturday’s game.  

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Premier League news: Aston Villa dominate lacklustre Newcastle Utd at Villa Park

Jean-Philippe Mateta vs Ezri Konsa

Both Mateta and Konsa have benefited greatly from the arrival of a new manager in the last couple of seasons.

Mateta has scored 13 goals in 32 Premier League matches this season following on from his 16-goal campaign in the 2023-24 season.

Before that, his best Premier League season from a goalscoring perspective was five goals, coming in 2022-23. 

The 27-year-old has been prolific in the last year and a half, averaging 0.63 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, putting him in the top 10% of strikers in Europe. 

Likewise, since Emery was appointed as Villa manager in late 2022, the Villans have achieved a lot, but no one has been a bigger beneficiary than Konsa.

From having the reputation of a below-average Premier League defender to playing regularly for England and scoring in a Champions League quarter-final, he still has a lot to achieve. 

With a very impressive 78.1% tackle success rate, trying to take Konsa on 1v1 has become a very difficult task, so the right-back could be the key to slowing down Mateta.

READ NEXT: Premier League news: Newcastle Utd vs Ipswich Town – Five key battles and score prediction

Eberechi Eze vs Matty Cash

The battle between Eze and Cash could be a really good watch for the neutral, with Eze being a good dribbler and Cash a solid defender. 

The match-up between the two of them could also prove to be a decisive one, and Cash will be dealt the unfortunate task of keeping Palace’s primary creator quiet. 

Despite having a slightly underwhelming season for the Eagles, Eze has still been really difficult to get the ball off of, with a dribble success rate of 47.4% putting him in the top 25% of attacking midfielders in Europe.

Cash, on the other hand, has been very good when it comes to stopping tricky wingers this season, successfully tackling 63.6% of dribblers this season. 

There is no doubt that whoever comes out on top in this battle could have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. 

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Leeds United secure Premier League return after thrashing Stoke

Morgan Rogers vs Tyrick Mitchell

On the same side of the pitch as the Eze vs Cash battle will be the match-up between Rogers and Mitchell. 

While Rogers has a bit more of a free role, Palace will likely give wing-back Mitchell the job of slowing the 22-year-old down. 

So far this season, Rogers has created a lot of chances for Villa, playing 0.82 through balls per 90 and offering 0.41 shot-creating actions via take-on per game. 

While defending against Rogers has been a difficult task for many players this season, Mitchell could be the perfect person to give it a good go.

The 25-year-old has a healthy average of 1.7 successful tackles per game this season and is moreover impressive physically, winning 59% of his ground duels. 

Score prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Crystal Palace

MORE FROM DYLAN RICHARDSON: Five unwanted records in Premier League history: Derby, Sunderland, Sheff Utd and more