Aston Villa will play Crystal Palace in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
A double from Marcus Rashford and a strike by Jacob Ramsey saw the Villans defeat Preston at Deepdale on Sunday, with Joe Hart in charge of the draw after the final whistle.
The former England international drew Crystal Palace against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest against the winners of Bournemouth vs Manchester City.
It’s three! ⚽⚽⚽
Villa are heading to Wembley. #BBCFootball #FACup pic.twitter.com/hLMcDCQkjf
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 30, 2025
Seconds later, BBC Sport cut to an interview with the aforementioned Ramsey, where he was told Crystal Palace await at Wembley.
Jacob Ramsey impressed by Crystal Palace
The Aston Villa No.41 was very respectful towards the south Londoners after being told about the FA Cup draw live on BBC one.
Ramsey – who Pep Guardiola admires – said: “Palace is it?! Nice. We watched their game yesterday, they played really well.”
The Eagles coasted to a 3-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, with Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah on the scoresheet.
In doing so, they secured a total of £450,000 in prize money, the same amount Aston Villa will receive after defeating Preston.
There is a further £500,000 to come for either Crystal Palace or Aston Villa, the sum awarded to the losers of the semi-final, with £1m going to the winners of the tie, and £2m to the eventual FA Cup champions.
Why Crystal Palace should be confident of overcoming Aston Villa
Unai Emery has his side sitting ninth in the Premier League – four points off fourth – and into the last eight of the UEFA Champions League, so Aston Villa are arguably favourites against Crystal Palace, who made English football history in beating Fulham.
However – as recently as February 25th – Crystal Palace put four past the Villans at Selhurst Park in Premier League action, sealing a comprehensive 4-1 win.
Of course, a semi-final clash at Wembley will be a different animal to a midweek league match, but having also secured a 2-2 draw at Villa Park in November, confidence will be high in the Crystal Palace camp.
