Our betting expert has three Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa tips for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (kick-off, 5.15pm). Scroll down for the analysis behind his selections.
- Crystal Palace to win @ 11/5 with bet365
- Jean-Philippe Mateta to score anytime @ 6/5 with bet365
- Daniel Munoz to be booked @ 11/5 with bet365
Palace can continue pursuit of first trophy
It seems incredible that a club as storied as Crystal Palace is still to win a major trophy. The Eagles have twice lost in the FA Cup final, on both occasions to Manchester United.
A win on Saturday would take them a step closer to ending their century-and-a-half hoodoo and Oliver Glasner, who is aiming to become the first Austrian coach to reach the FA Cup final, happily rotated for his team’s 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday.
That draw represented Palace’s fourth league game without a victory but a repeat top-half finish is still a possibility, although it is hard not to think that their focus has waned since March’s 3-0 quarter-final win at Fulham.
However, they might just be catching Aston Villa at the perfect moment. The Villans looked good for large swathes of Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City but conceded in stoppage time to Matheus Nunes.
It was a heartbreaking outcome and their season could be running out of steam at the wrong time.
They sit seventh in the table, but having played a game more than fifth-placed Newcastle, whom they hammered 4-1 last weekend, but only after being eliminated in the last eight of the Champions League.
Unai Emery’s side might have had 24 hours more to prepare for Saturday’s showdown but the devastation of the Etihad defeat and the breezy nature with which Palace played at the Emirates hint that the pressure is off the Eagles and they can cause an upset.
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa tip 1: Crystal Palace to win @ 11/5 with bet365
Mateta the man to take Palace through
Jean-Philippe Mateta was at it again with his clever finish against Arsenal, spotting Gunners goalkeeper David Raya out of his goal after the Spaniard had anticipated a back pass.
Villa’s Emi Martinez is another goalkeeper with a habit of going walkabout, especially if Palace choose to sit deep and allow the Argentine and his defenders plenty of ball, so he could be caught out.
While colleague Ismaila Sarr has been involved in four goals in two starts against Aston Villa this season, scoring three and providing an assist, it is Mateta who is the more consistent.
The Frenchman scored in his team’s 4-1 home win over these opponents on February 25 and with him recovered from the head knock he suffered in the fifth round victory over Millwall, the 27-year-old could well break his FA Cup duck for this season’s competition.
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa tip 2: Jean-Philippe Mateta @ 6/5 with bet365
Munoz might be a man for a card
Mateta may have to do plenty of work himself on Saturday, with Palace expected to aim to absorb pressure and strike on the break.
That brings bookings into play and Daniel Munoz is a handy candidate to keep an eye on.
The Colombian’s swashbuckling style has made him well suited to English football since coming in from Genk in January 2024, providing both defensive ballast and attacking threat as the right-wing-back in Glasner’s 3-4-2-1.
However, Munoz has been booked in two of his last three in the league and three of his seven starts in this season’s EFL and FA Cups.
Of his nine yellow cards in the 2024/25 Premier League, one came against Villa in February, so don’t expect him to shirk any challenges, with him having no issues in accepting cautions for the good of his team.
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa tip 3: Daniel Munoz to be booked @ 11/5 with bet365
