FA Cup | Fifth Round

Feb 28, 2025 at 8pm UK

Villa Park

Aston Villa vs Cardiff

Match preview

Aston Villa endured a grim Tuesday night in south London, suffering a 4-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in their last outing that dealt a further blow to their dreams of Champions League qualification for a second successive season.

Villa were briefly on level terms when Morgan Rogers equalised just after half-time, but Palace went on to score three goals through substitute Robin Olsen, who replaced injured number one Emiliano Martinez at the break.

Unai Emery's side, who now sit 10th in the Premier League table - albeit just a few points adrift of fifth - have dropped a number of points this season and would be as high as third if not for such errors.

Nevertheless, they remain in contention for more European football next term and have a Champions League last-16 tie against Club Brugge to look forward to, with the first leg taking place in Belgium next Tuesday.

Before the former European champions turn their attentions to UEFA's elite competition, however, they must first try to get one step closer to Wembley with an eighth FA Cup triumph in their sights.

Villa have struggled to reach the latter stages of the competition in recent years - they last reached the fifth round 10 years ago before losing to Arsenal in the final - but having been handed a favourable home draw after beating West Ham United and then Tottenham Hotspur, Emery will be hopeful of progressing.

Ultimately, the Villans' Basque manager is determined to put an end to his club's nearly three - decade-long wait for a major trophy. The cup competition presents by far their most promising opportunity this season.

It has been a long time since Aston Villa last lifted the FA Cup. Meanwhile, Cardiff City's only triumph in this competition dates back almost a century, to 1927. Since then, a team featuring a 17 - year - old Aaron Ramsey came closest when they lost the 2008 final.

The Bluebirds have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 11 years. They achieved this by recording victories over fellow Championship sides Sheffield United and Stoke City. The win against Stoke City came via a dramatic penalty shoot - out after the two teams drew 3 - 3.

After that, Omer Riza's Cardiff City side picked up just two points from their next three league games. On Tuesday, they welcomed relegation rivals Hull City to Wales. The two teams played their game in hand, which could have a significant impact on the relegation battle in the second tier.

Cardiff City managed to grind out a crucial 1 - 0 victory, thanks to Callum Robinson's second - half goal. This win allowed them to overtake their opponents and climb to 19th place in the table.

Now, with a six - point buffer separating them from the bottom three in a fierce relegation scrap, Cardiff City are also on an unbeaten run of six games at home. However, on the road, they have managed to win just one out of 17 matches.

Furthermore, when they head to Birmingham to face Aston Villa, history is stacked against them. Across all competitions, Cardiff City has not won in their last 15 visits to Villa Park and has lost each of the last seven.

Recent Performance

Aston Villa FA Cup form:WW

Aston Villa form (all competitions):LWDDWL

Cardiff City FA Cup form:WW

Cardiff City form (all competitions):LWLDDW

Team News

With a hectic run of fixtures in three competitions, Unai Emery is likely to indulge in a bit of squad rotation, with recent loan signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio at the front of the queue to come off the bench.

His options will be relatively limited, however, with Aston Villa still suffering from a number of injuries: Pau Torres, Boubacar Kamara, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are not expected back until after the international break.

If there are any doubts over the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was taken off midway through Tuesday's defeat at Selhurst Park, Robin Olsen should be the man to deputise between the sticks.

Meanwhile, Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring tear, meaning United States international Ethan Horvath will start.

Ollie Tanner is also out, as are Will Alves, David Turnbull, Jasper Daland and club captain Joe Ralls. Aaron Ramsey has to manage his workload after a lengthy lay-off and the Wales star may not play the full 90 minutes.

However, the visitors will be able to welcome back centre-back Dimitrios Goutas from suspension, while former Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi will be eager to make an impact on his old home turf.

Republic of Ireland striker Callum Robinson, who will be deployed in the final third, has just enjoyed his best goalscoring season, reaching 12 Championship goals for the first time since 2019.

Possible starting lineup

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Olsen; Garcia, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; McGinn, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Malen

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Fish; Rinomhota, Mannsverk, Ramsey, O'Dowda; El Ghazi, Robinson; Salech