(Image: PA)
Aston Villa fans are rightly looking forward to a day out at Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup where they will do battle with Crystal Palace for a place in the final of the most prestigious cup competition on the planet.
They comfortably saw off the challenge of Preston at Deepdale in the quarter-final and have the look of a team who believe they can bring the trophy back to Birmingham next month.
The last time Villa won it was in 1957 but they have been to the final on two occasions since then – in 2000 when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea and 2015 when they were beaten 4-0 by Arsenal.
In the semi-final in 2000 they went through 4-1 on penalties after drawing 0-0 with Bolton, while in 2015 they beat highly-fancied Liverpool 2-1.
I am sure every Villa fan would admit they did not turn up against the Gunners in 2015, which was a surprise after such a great performance against the Reds.
That is one of the reasons why the semi-finals should not be played at Wembley. Teams have already had the big occasion in the last four. The other reason is you are asking fans from outside London to pay for two big games (semi-final and final) and we all know how expensive everything is in the capital.
However, the FA will not change it due to the huge amount of money generated from selling rights and advertising from hosting the semi-finals at Wembley. Over two hundred countries are official broadcast partners of the FA for the FA Cup, plus our own TV companies in Britain.
Over eight million people watch the final on BBC TV alone, with millions more watching on other stations, while in 2023/24 over 100 million watched worldwide.
This is a massive opportunity for Villa to bring some silverware back to Villa Park. I said here a few weeks back that it was their best chance to win a trophy.
First up, though, a tough semi-final on April 26 against a Crystal Palace team who are in great form, having won 11 of their last 14 games in all competitions, drawing one and losing just two. In the same period Villa have won eight, drawn three and lost three.
Villa just might have the edge in big games, but the Eagles have already beaten Unai Emery’s team twice this season, in the Premier League and League Cup. They drew their other league meeting.
However, Unai is the man for the big occasion and the bookies also think so as they have Villa slight favourites to win the semi-final and second favourites to lift the trophy. They are convinced it will be a Manchester City v Villa final.
Do you think Aston Villa can win the FA Cup? Let us know what you think