Image: ..Yardley.. via flickr
Football is a funny old game, a reference which is rather dated now, having been coined by the late Jimmy Greaves, who died in 2021. Readers of a certain vintage will fondly remember Saint and Greavsie and whilst both its hosts have sadly passed away (within a few months of each other), Greaves’s almost-catchphrase, whilst something of a cliche, remains as true as ever.
This season has certainly been a funny one in the FA Cup, with so many of the big guns exiting early in the competition and plenty of fascinating subplots.
The quarter finals took place on 29th and 30th March and we had four interesting fixtures, although none that could be described as real glamour ties. Eight teams have become four and we are now very much into the business end of things, with the remaining clubs guaranteed at least one fixture at Wembley and they will all hope for another after that.
The draw for the Wembley semis took place on the 30th of March, and we now know that Crystal Palace will play Aston Villa, whilst Nottingham Forest will have to get past Pep Guardiola’s Man City. Before we look at those two matches, let’s take a quick look back at the four quarter final clashes, to see how that quartet earned the right to play at Wembley.
Quarter-Final Results
The last eight saw seven Premier League teams and one, Preston, from the Championship. Of the final eight, half were previous winners of the competition. Preston and Forest had both won it twice, Villa and Man City both on seven occasions.
Bournemouth had never made it past the quarters previously, and had only made it that far once, in 2021. The other three teams had all made the final but never quite managed to get over the line, Palace having lost in the final twice, with Brighton and Fulham each losing in the showpiece on one occasion.
It was an unusual quarter-final line-up, with a real chance for the likes of Forest, Brighton, Fulham, Bournemouth and Villa to land some silverware. Those five all headed into the quarter finals inside the top 10 in the Premier League standings, and with City also in the top half of the table, in one sense it wasn’t such a surprise QF cast.
| Date | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29/3/25 | Fulham | 0-3 | Crystal Palace |
| 29/3/25 | Brighton | 0-0, 3-4 pens | Nottingham Forest |
| 30/3/25 | Preston | 0-3 | Aston Villa |
| 30/3/25 | Bournemouth | 1-2 | Manchester City |
The results were a mixed bag, with Villa, the biggest favourites, winning easily in the end, but being held to 0-0 until almost an hour had gone. City got the job done eventually, but went behind in what was always going to be a tough encounter against a Bournemouth team that have won a lot of plaudits this term.
The other two matches were harder to predict, with the home team probably favourites in both instances. However, Palace, inspired by Eberechi Eze, were too good for Fulham, easing to a 3-0 win, their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions. Boss Oliver Glasner is steadily building something in south London, and they have an array of talented players who can trouble any opponent.
High-flying Forest booked their spot in the semis by winning their third penalty shootout of this year’s FA Cup. It was the third tie in a row where they had needed spot-kicks and after a 0-0 draw (after 90 minutes and then extra time), their brilliant goalie, Matz Sels was the hero as they prevailed 4-3 on penalties.
Semi-Finals Await
The semis will take place on the 26th and 27th of April, with both games to be televised and take place at Wembley. Kick-off times and dates are still to be confirmed, but the two ties are as follows:
- Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
- Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
The final will then take place back at Wembley on Saturday the 17th of May. On paper there may be an instinctive feeling that Man City v Aston Villa would be the biggest final and also the one we are most likely to see. The bookies see it that way, with City firm favourites to lift the trophy overall, priced at 6/5, with Villa next at 11/4, followed by Forest at 7/2 and Palace available at 5/1.
Whilst those odds do imply that a City v Villa finale is the most likely one, they also indicate that there really isn’t all that much between the teams. Back at the end of October, when City were unbeaten and top of the Premier League, the notion that there would be relatively little between them, and Forest and Palace, would have been laughable. This was Pep’s winning machine, with four consecutive Premier League titles to their name.
However, they won just one of their nine league matches from the start of November onwards and have been unable to shake off the issues that seemed to stem from an injury to Rodri. With recent news that Erling Haaland could be out for seven weeks, the Norwegian may well miss the final, should City get there, and will almost certainly be ruled out for their semi.
Injury update: Erling Haaland
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 31, 2025
As such, this year’s FA Cup really is anyone’s and the three underdogs are highly unlikely to have a better chance than this again anytime soon. Forest, as crazy as it is to write this, are quite easily the highest-ranked side left in the competition. That is the same Forest who just about every single football pundit out there tipped to be embroiled in a relegation battle this term.
Under the brilliant management and coaching of Nuno Espirito Santos the East Midlands outfit, two-time European champions, are third in the PL table. After 29 games they have six points more than City, nine more than Villa and 15 more than Palace. Despite their lofty status they are 7/2 underdogs against City (who are themselves 3/4) and given they are the only side to have beaten Liverpool in the league this term, they certainly won’t be scared about going toe-to-toe with a City side lacking both Rodri and Haaland.
Villa, who unlike City remain in the Champions League, are slight favourites (6/4, compared to 7/4 for their opponents) to beat Palace in 90 minutes but that one really could go either way. The Villans face a very busy April, with two games against PSG before their semi, and that might just give Palace, who can focus solely on this competition, the edge.
This may not be a typical year in the modern FA Cup, so often dominated in recent times by the richest clubs, but it promises to be a cracker. Anyone for a Palace versus Forest final?!