FA Cup, Semifinals, Saturday, 04/26/2025, 6:15 p.m.
It’s all or nothing on the island: the FA Cup final is calling! The line-up for the semi-finals is quite surprising, so in my Crystal Palace Aston Villa tip I can focus on two teams that not everyone expected to be this far ahead.
This should make the duo all the more motivated, as neither team has had much experience in cup finals.
In my analysis, I’ll reveal in detail why I think it will be a really close game and why I’m predicting that both teams will score in regular time!
Aston Villa last won the FA Cup in 1957 and has reached the final twice since then (in 2000 and 2015). Crystal Palace have never won, reaching the final in 1990 and 2016.
When these two teams face each other on Saturday, one thing is clear: motivation and nerves are likely to reach fever pitch, because the FA Cup is by no means the most popular competition on either side!
Crystal Palace have home advantage in this important, perhaps historic game. With just one win in their last six games, things have gone a bit downhill in the league recently, although the Eagles had been in really good shape before that.
But with four defeats in 2025, they can still be quite satisfied. I’m switching over now anyway and focusing on the current competition, because knockout games are a completely different ball game, as we all know.
Initially, Crystal Palace’s task was to secure routine victories against lower-league clubs. With a 1-0 win against Stockport, 2-0 against Doncaster, and 3-1 against Millwall, it would have been quite surprising if they had been knocked out at this stage.
In the quarterfinals, they faced their first Premier League opponent, Fulham FC, and it was here that the Eagles recorded their most convincing victory to date, winning 3-0. Conceding only one goal in the entire competition is an impressive achievement.
Crystal Palace went into the break with a lead in all four games. Interestingly, in the EFL Cup, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Arsenal, they also scored in the first half of all four matches.
The Eagles seem to like knockout games this season, which is why there are a few bets worth considering here. For example, you could bet that there will be a goal before half-time. At Bet365, the odds for this tip are 2.30.
In addition, Bet365 is offering betting credits of up to €100. A half-time lead would mean a higher risk, with the odds at Bwin rising to 3.60. Speaking of odds, is Crystal Palace the clear favorite?
Not quite. As far as victory after regular time is concerned, the odds are 3.20 to 2.20. If we look at simply advancing, we get 2.10 to 1.65.
The Londoners have already knocked their current opponents out of the EFL Cup this season, with three wins and a draw making their recent record almost flawless.
Important to know: The Eagles haven’t lost a home game against Aston Villa since December 2014. 4-1, 5-0, 3-1, 1-2, 3-2? The last few matches at Selhurst Park have been intense!
The visitors will know that this stadium doesn’t suit them. Fittingly, they’ve gotten themselves into really good form in the Premier League. After four consecutive wins with twelve goals, they lost 1-2 to Manchester City – with the decisive goal conceded in stoppage time.
Having lost at home, the Villans would obviously have preferred to play the semi-final at home, but now they have to travel. Will that be the decisive disadvantage?
Unlike Crystal Palace, Aston Villa had to start the FA Cup against two league rivals. They won 2-1 against West Ham and Tottenham, with their home stadium playing a big part in both victories.
They also enjoyed home advantage in their 2-0 win against Cardiff City. The team had to play away from home for the first time against Preston, but did so with flying colors. However, this opponent was obviously not on the same level as Crystal Palace.
Eight goals, seven of them in the second half? They seem to be pursuing a clear strategy here. Incidentally, you would get odds of 1.68 at Bwin for a goal in the second half of the current semi-final.
Neither team is among those we expected to be this far ahead in the cup competition! Crystal Palace and Aston Villa don’t have much FA Cup semifinal experience, but they have performed very confidently in the competition so far.
Aston Villa is slightly ahead in my estimation, after all, they came within a hair’s breadth of knocking PSG out of the Champions League. On the other hand, the hosts have a strong head-to-head record.
In my opinion, it’s likely that we’ll see a closely contested match in which the famous little details will make the difference. With that in mind, I’ve opted for the following classic bet:
Both teams to score!
