THE BIG DEBATE: This weekend sees the FA Cup return, with eight clubs battling it out to reach the semi-finals - and there are plenty of surprise packages in the mix
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LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Gary Lineker speaks to Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, with the FA Cup trophy after the team's victory the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on April 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola is desperate to get his hands on the FA Cup again(Image: Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Club football returns this weekend and so does the FA Cup. It's not often you get a quarter-final round in which half of the teams have never even won a major trophy.
Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham are all yearning for silverware while Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Preston North End are desperate to relive their former glories. That obviously leaves one other team: Manchester City.
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Last year, City became the first-ever English side to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for six years in a row, although it ended in heartache with a shock defeat to Manchester United in the final. It was only 2023 when Pep Guardiola's men last got their hands on the trophy, so we'd be foolish to write them off again.
But who could spring a surprise? We've asked the Mirror Football team to predict their 2025 FA Cup winners.
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Jeremy Cross
The smart money might be on Manchester City, due to them being desperate to win the FA Cup to salvage something from a wretched season, but don't write off Aston Villa.
Villa are having an impressive campaign which has seen them reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and challenge for a top-four finish. Confidence is high, and with Preston standing between them a place in the FA Cup semi-finals, Unai Emery's side should not be overlooked as potential winners.
Andy Dunn
The Newcastle United story gave the Carabao Cup lots of extra lustre this season and now the FA Cup will enjoy its time in the spotlight. When Bournemouth take care of Manchester City, which they will, we will be guaranteed a fascinating story from the final on May 17.
Aside from City, only three of the remaining seven quarter-finalists have won the FA Cup and the most recent of those successes came for Nottingham Forest in 1959. It is a fascinating last-eight line-up. Preston, winners in 1938, are the obvious outsiders, but you could make a case for any of the seven Premier League clubs.
And considering their form, do not let anyone put you off Brighton. They are playing as well as any side in the country and you could definitely say they are due a major trophy, having never won one in their 124-year history (unless you count the Charity Shield or Sussex Senior Challenge Cup as major trophies). It is a tough one to call but this will finally be the year Brighton lifts serious silverware.
Who'll win the FA Cup? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Unai Emery, Manager of Aston Villa, celebrates victory following the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Chelsea FC at Villa Park on February 22, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Harry Murphy - AVFC/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery knows how to win cup competitions(Image: Harry Murphy - AVFC/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Neil McLeman
Newcastle ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by claiming the Carabao Cup and this season's FA Cup offers another great chance for a club to win rare silverware. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are all out while Manchester City's form has been erratic.
Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest are all in the running but I think the surprise winners will come from the all-London quarter-final between Fulham and Crystal Palace. Marco Silva scuppered his career by going to Everton but the Portuguese is a tactical genius and he has built a bright team who sit eighth in the Premier League and could yet squeeze into the Champions League.
Palace started the season with eight Premier League games without a win after a disrupted summer which saw the departure of Michael Olise. But Oliver Glasner, who only replaced Roy Hodgson in February last year, has excelled again. The spine of his team - Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Jean-Philippe Mateta - will be in demand in the summer transfer market along with the Austrian manager. This is a golden opportunity for the south London club to finally win a trophy.
Simon Mullock
Manchester City are the bookies' favourites to win the FA Cup - but Pep Guardiola's side have lost to Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Bournemouth and Aston Villa this season so the race for the oldest pot in football is far from a foregone conclusion.
Aston Villa have the best draw of the quarter-finals - and on their day can beat anyone. So I'm going for Unai Emery's team to go all the way to Wembley to lift the Cup.
Villa are a team packed with players capable of making THE difference and Emery is a manager capable of coming up with a tactical plan to suit the occasion. I reckon the FA Cup is going back to Villa Park for the first time since they beat the Busby Babes almost 70 years ago.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team's first goal with Eberechi Eze during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Chelsea FC at Selhurst Park on January 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Jean-Philippe Mateta's return is a major boost for Crystal Palace(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Mike Walters
Any season where the usual cast of suspects - Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool - don't have their wicked way with the FA Cup is a refreshing change. It's good to see most of the big guns have already fallen by the wayside by the quarter-final stage, and four of the last eight clubs standing have never won a major trophy in their history.
For many neutrals, Fulham has always been a nice day out - a pint in the Eight Bells by Putney Bridge, a stroll through Bishops Park to Craven Cottage - but at full throttle they are now decent to watch on the pitch, too. Half a century after they reached their only FA Cup final, it would be a fitting nod to history if they made a return trip to Wembley 50 years since Bobby Moore's last appearance at the cathedral of English football.
Before Fulham's fifth-round shootout win at Old Trafford, I told head coach Marco Silva that he was the last bloke his Portuguese compatriot Ruben Amorim would want to encounter if Manchester United were going to salvage a trophy from a turbulent season.
Fulham were my tip for the cup from the third-round draw, so I'm not going to desert them now. Anyone for Fulham v Brighton on May 17 in the Cup final?
Matt Maltby
This season's quarter-final ties are much needed - it's boring when it's just the traditional big clubs scrapping it out for the FA Cup. And while the obvious shout to lift the crown in May is Manchester City, who will be desperate to end a miserable season with a trophy, I'm backing Crystal Palace.
Oliver Glasner has worked wonders with the Eagles and has got them playing some lovely football. A clash with Fulham is by no means an easy task - but they won at Craven Cottage last month and know how to scrap out wins in big matches.
The return of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who suffered that horrible head injury in the win over Millwall in the last round, is timely - and it'll be no surprise if he bags a goal or two. Palace have never won the FA Cup, finishing as runners-up twice, and reached the semi-finals three years ago when they lost to Chelsea. This is their time.
Omar Marmoush #7 of Manchester City F.C. celebrates his goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Manchester City are the favourites to win the FA Cup(Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sam Meade
Manchester City. Yes it is the obvious answer, although overcoming Bournemouth on the south coast will be one serious task. Guardiola's side have already lost at the Vitality Stadium this year but will still head there as favourites.
Not since his debut season in England has Guardiola gone without a trophy and he'll be determined to keep that streak going. A host of the major outfits are already knocked out which only ramps up the pressure on the Manchester outfit to get the job done and provide some positives to what has otherwise been a difficult season.
Guardiola has two FA Cups to his name since being in England, having been dealt more defeats in the latter stages than he'd care to mention. If they can click, though, they should claim the trophy at Wembley in a matter of months.
Daniel Orme
If we're ruling out Manchester City, you'd argue the next best side left in the FA Cup is Nottingham Forest. But you'd have to wonder whether Nuno Espirito Santo's might be distracted by their push for a Champions League spot.
They'd have the squad to challenge on both fronts and Forest fans would be desperate for a trophy, but I'm sure they'd be more than content with a top-four finish. It's then a toss-up between Brighton and Bournemouth, with the Cherries arguably the more consistent of the two.
Andoni Iraola has the south coast side playing some scintillating football and it's not outrageous to say that if they find a way past City this weekend, they will be automatically installed as favourites. And with a potentially favourable run coming up after Pep Guardiola's side, they could potentially go all the way.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: Players of AFC Bournemouth celebrate winning the penalty shootout after the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Vitality Stadium on March 01, 2025 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Bournemouth reached the fifth round by beating Wolves on penalties
Scott Trotter
The FA Cup has rarely looked as open to see a fresh winner and it's almost impossible to pick a team to lift the trophy in May. Nottingham Forest may have established themselves as favourites given their position in the Premier League but Manchester City's reputation will see them with the shortest odds.
Pep Guardiola's side have shown plenty of inconsistency this term and the door is wide open. Aston Villa have pedigree and match-winning contributors throughout their team, and a manager who has proven himself to be a cup specialist. They require a late push to earn European football in the league and the Champions League to contend with, however.
Bournemouth might have the stiffest test this weekend but have shown themselves capable of beating the very best teams England has to offer this season. Adoni Iraola has come up with gameplans that have left Arsenal, Liverpool, City and Forest dwelling upon defeat. And I'm backing him to do it again this weekend at the Vitality with Guardiola's side under pressure and to eventually cap off a very impressive season.
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