Football betting tips: FA Cup
2pts Crystal Palace to qualify at 13/10 (General)
1pt Eberechi Eze to score in 90 minutes at 5/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Eze 1+ assists in 90 minutes at 11/2 (bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes)
BuildABet @ 16/1
- Palace to win
- Eze to score or assist
- Will Hughes card
All in 90 minutes
What a refreshing change from the norm this season's FA Cup has been.
Whether the absence of so many of the traditional 'big' clubs from the quarter-final line-up will be marked down as an anomaly in years to come, or 2024/25 will be referenced as a turning point to a more competitive top flight is one for future us to worry about, for now we should be happy to at least bask for a little while longer in the last four containing only one club who have lifted a major trophy in the past three decades.
It's 29 years since Aston Villa lifted the Coca-Cola Cup. Crystal Palace have never won a major trophy.
Both have come close fairly recently, with Villa beaten in the FA Cup final 10 years ago and Palace falling just short 12 months later.
One of them will get another shot in three weeks' time.
What are the best bets?
Palace and Villa head into this game having experienced starkly contrasting midweeks.
Unai Emery's side conceded a 93rd-minute winner at Manchester City when Axel Disasi's inability to play full-back was straightforwardly exposed by Jeremy Doku. It was the kind of obvious tactical mismatch that will have left Villa's genius of a manager both baffled by his own (usually excellent) decision making, and relieved that the cumbersome on-loan Chelsea defender is cup-tied this weekend.
Oliver Glasner's team, meanwhile, were beneficiaries of some frankly rank bad goalkeeping. Yes, their late equaliser at Arsenal came thanks to Jean Philippe Mateta's perfect finish, but it was only possible because of David Raya's utterly bizarre positioning.
"The goalkeeper doesn't NEED to be there." 🤔@Carra23 breaks down David Raya's positioning before Mateta’s goal 🔎 pic.twitter.com/yvQhhOFwdB
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 23, 2025
Defeat for Villa was a hammer blow to their top-five chances and ended a run of five straight Premier League wins stretching back to a 4-1 thrashing at Selhurst Park in late February.
That result continued an impressive sequence of success for Glasner against Emery.
The clubs' final game of last season saw Palace run out 5-0 winners. In two meetings at Villa Park this term the Eagles won 2-1 in the Carabao Cup and twice led before drawing 2-2 in the league.
In a battle between two particularly tactically astute coaches, where one appears to have the better of the other, the significant 13/10 about CRYSTAL PALACE TO QUALIFY is worth backing.
A lot was made in midweek of Villa's worrying record of conceding late goals, with only Southampton having a worse record in the top flight this season, perhaps due to the particularly busy fixture list Emery's team has had.
This will be their ninth game in 28 days since returning from the international break, playing every weekend and every midweek, a run that will only relent after Saturday's semi-final.
Against a vibrant, impressive Palace team, this semi-final could be a bridge too far.
Eze does it
One man sure to be at the centre of things is EBERECHI EZE.
Eze has saved his best performances for the biggest moments this season, with the England midfielder registering 11 goal involvements (three goals and eight assists) in 30 league appearances but an incredible eight (four goals and four assists) in just seven cup matches.
- CLICK HERE to back Eze to score in 90 minutes with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Eze 1+ assists in 90 minutes with Sky Bet
He comes into this tie in wonderful form, scoring four and assisting three goals in his last eight appearances for club and country, with all of those goal involvements in 'big' matches - scoring away at Arsenal and Manchester City, his first England goal, scoring and assisting in an FA Cup quarter-final and providing two assists in Palace's derby with Brighton.
Definitely a man for the big occasion, the returns are better to take Eze TO SCORE IN 90 MINUTES at 5/1 and for 1+ ASSISTS at 11/2 rather than to back him to score or assist as one single.
Team news
Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards is back from suspension and is likely to come straight back in while Ben Chilwell should recover from illness in time to return to the bench. Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are long-term absentees.
Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr are also likely to come back in to the XI.
Aston Villa have a fully-fit squad with only Axel Disasi (cup-tied) unavailable. Ollie Watkins and captain John McGinn are expected start.
Predicted line-ups
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Rogers, McGinn, Rashford; Watkins.
Odds correct at 1520 BST (24/4/25)
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