Tom Hill's selections for Saturday's FA Cup semi-final tie include a win for Unai Emery's side with a previous FA Cup final scorer making a big contribution.
Aston Villa have not won the FA Cup since 1957 and Crystal Palace have never lifted the oldest cup competition in the world, so both teams have a great opportunity when they meet in Saturday’s semi-final.
The pair have already met three times this season, but none have been more important than this one. Here are our best football betting tips for this huge cup tie.
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa tips
Aston Villa /
Youri Tielemans to score or assist /
Daniel Munoz to be shown a card /
Villans may be value
Aston Villa have lost two of the three meetings between these two teams this season but they come into this FA Cup semi-final in much better form than Crystal Palace.
The Villans have been victorious in ten of their last 12 games in all competitions and the only two that they failed to win were away trips to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
By contrast, Palace have only won one of their last six games, and that was a derby success over Brighton, in which the formbook somewhat went out of the window.
Perhaps the biggest concern for Oliver Glasner’s men recently has been the way that they capitulated against Manchester City and Newcastle, conceding ten times in those two matches.
That could be an issue against an Aston Villa side who have netted 23 times in their last nine matches in all competitions.
The Lions’ January acquisitions mean that they undoubtedly have the stronger squad of these two and that is likely to be crucial at the business end of what has been a relentless season.
Unai Emery is also something of a cup specialist, winning the Europa League four times as well asdoing the cup double twice with PSG.
The Spaniard’s expertise should be crucial and he can mastermind his way to another cup final.
Tielemans dangerous
Both of these teams have excelled at set pieces this season, the only team to score more from such situations in the Premier League than Aston Villa is Crystal Palace and Youri Tielemans is key to that for Unai Emery’s side.
The midfielder has ten assists and four goals in all competitions this term and looks a tempting price to add to that tally at Wembley, where he famously scored the winner for Leicester in the 2021 final.
Munoz card candidate
Lots of the best things that Aston Villa do comes down their left flank and they should provide plenty of issues for Crystal Palace wing-back Daniel Munoz.
The Colombian has been shown 12 cards in all competitions this season and is likely to line up against the tricky Morgan Rogers and Marco Asensio in this one, so he could receive another.
