This year`s FA Cup semifinals promise to be exciting, featuring familiar powerhouse Manchester City alongside Premier League teams eager for major silverware. Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest join Man City, creating a semifinal lineup that deviates from the usual suspects typically seen at this stage of the competition.
Crystal Palace secured their spot early, dominating Fulham in an away victory. Nottingham Forest faced a tougher challenge, needing penalties to overcome Brighton & Hove Albion in a dramatic match.
Aston Villa enjoyed a comfortable win against Preston North End, the last Championship team remaining, with a decisive 3-0 score. Manchester City`s match was more eventful. Bournemouth initially took the lead, putting City`s progress in doubt. However, a strong response led by substitute Nico O`Reilly turned the game around. O`Reilly assisted Erling Haaland`s goal and then scored the winning goal himself.
Semifinal Draw
- Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa
- Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City
The matches are scheduled for the weekend of April 26th and 27th.
Crystal Palace
Best FA Cup Finish: Runners-up (1990, 2016). For Crystal Palace, the absence of Manchester United in the semifinals is a positive sign. Manchester United defeated Palace in both of their previous FA Cup final appearances. Palace is still seeking their first major cup victory, depending on how one defines the Full Members` Cup, a competition held when English clubs were excluded from European tournaments.
Road to the Semifinals: Eberechi Eze was the star in Palace`s 3-0 away win against Fulham. Eze scored the opening goal and assisted Ismaila Sarr shortly after. Eddie Nketiah added a third goal, completing a convincing victory. Before Fulham, Palace had defeated lower-league teams Stockport, Doncaster, and Millwall.
Winning Chances: Crystal Palace might be the most in-form team left in the competition, having won their last five matches. In 2025, they have an impressive record of 10 wins, one draw, and two losses. Recently, they convincingly beat Aston Villa at home, with Eze playing exceptionally well in a game where Palace`s expected goals reached 4.31.
Aston Villa
Best FA Cup Finish: Winners (1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, 1957). Aston Villa is a historic English club, but many current fans may not remember their FA Cup triumphs. Since their last victory, Villa has only reached the final twice, losing to Chelsea in 2000 and Arsenal in 2015.
Road to the Semifinals: Aston Villa has navigated a demanding season to reach the semifinals impressively. They defeated West Ham and Tottenham 2-1 at home, with Morgan Rogers scoring in both matches. They then overcame Cardiff in the round of 16. In the sixth round, Marcus Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, scored twice, and Jacob Ramsey added another goal to secure a straightforward win.
Winning Chances: Aston Villa boasts significant squad depth, particularly in attack, giving manager Unai Emery options. This depth is crucial as they are also competing in the Champions League quarterfinals and battling for a top-five Premier League finish. The question is whether they can maintain their energy levels, even with squad rotation, given their busy schedule.
Nottingham Forest
Best FA Cup Finish: Winners (1898, 1959). Similar to Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest`s FA Cup history is distant. For many, their FA Cup story is highlighted by their 1991 final defeat to Tottenham under Brian Clough. Regardless of the semifinal outcome, this season marks Forest`s deepest FA Cup run since that time.
Road to the Semifinals: Nottingham Forest`s journey has been full of drama. It began with a routine 2-0 win over Luton, but every subsequent match has been closely contested. They went to penalties against League One side Exeter City, where goalkeeper Matz Sels became the hero. The following rounds against Ipswich and Brighton also ended in penalty shootouts, with Forest prevailing each time.
Winning Chances: Underestimating Nottingham Forest would be risky, especially considering their past successes in upsetting expectations. Their defensive and counter-attacking style is well-suited for cup competitions. In this FA Cup run, they have been defensively solid, limiting every opponent except Exeter to under 0.9 expected goals in matches lasting over two hours.
However, their underlying performance metrics throughout the cup run are similar to their Premier League season: slightly above-average expected goal difference, not typically indicative of FA Cup winners or Champions League qualifiers. It remains to be seen if they can continue to defy the odds.
Manchester City
Best FA Cup Finish: Winners (1904, 1934, 1956, 1969, 2011, 2019, 2023). Another FA Cup victory would place Pep Guardiola`s Manchester City alongside Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham as the third most successful teams in FA Cup history, reinforcing the dominance of the “big six” clubs. City has consistently reached the semifinals in the past seven years, making it to three finals, winning one, and losing to Manchester United last year.
Road to the Semifinals: Manchester City has had a relatively straightforward path, starting with an 8-0 win against Salford City. They then faced a more challenging match against Leyton Orient, where they initially trailed before Kevin De Bruyne shifted the momentum. Following that, they defeated Plymouth Argyle and then secured a comeback win at Dean Court.
Winning Chances: Manchester City is the clear favorite. At their best, they are arguably unbeatable. However, this season, they haven`t consistently reached their peak form and can be vulnerable to counter-attacking strategies, which Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest are all capable of employing. Despite this, they are still the most likely team to lift the FA Cup trophy. If another team were to win, it would be a significant FA Cup upset.
