Aston Villa's potential involvement in a Champions League semi-final could have a major knock-on effect on the schedule, with Unai Emery's side also set to face Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of the FA Cup
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The FA Cup trophy
The FA Cup semi-finals will take place in April(Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa could be set to play their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, April 26. That is because of their potential Champions League semi-final the following midweek.
And it could have a major knock-on effect for their opponents Crystal Palace as they may have to play their re-arranged Premier League clash with Arsenal just days before the biggest game of their season.
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Clearly, Villa have to get past Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League quarter-final but the Football Association and TV companies cannot wait for the outcome.
The BBC and ITV will go through their picks in the next day or so and that means the Villa-Palace game may have to be scheduled on the Saturday in case Unai Emery ’s team end up playing a potential Champions League semi final on Tuesday, April 29.
That is likely to dictate that Manchester City will face Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday, April 27. Arsenal were due to play Palace at the Emirates on Saturday, April 26, so that will have to be re-arranged.
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And one of the dates being discussed is the preceding midweek because of a potential Premier League fixture backlog. That could mean Palace have to go to Arsenal on either the previous Tuesday or Wednesday, April 22/23.
It is unlikely to be a popular move for Palace because that would mean they face a midweek fixture before their FA Cup semi-final which is one of their biggest games for years.
The picks will be sorted in the next couple of days but even in the last round the fixture chaos meant that Premier League games had to be moved.
Aston Villa celebrate
Aston Villa have reached the FA Cup semi-finals and are also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League
The FA Cup draw was done in hasty fashion at Preston on Sunday because the BBC had rights to the semi-final draw which means ITV has it next time. That explains why the draw was made before the final game of the quarter-final round when City won at Bournemouth.
City have an excellent record in the competition under manager Pep Guardiola, who was quick to point out that his side have now reached the semi-finals for seven years in a row.
Palace, meanwhile, have never won the FA Cup but did lose in the final in 1990 and 2016. Villa are seven-time winners, although their last triumph came in 1957, and Forest twice lifted the trophy in 1898 and 1959.
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