The second half of FA Cup quarter-final weekend sees two ties at opposite ends of the country, with Preston entertaining Aston Villa and Manchester City heading to Bournemouth.
All of these clubs bar Bournemouth are previous winners – albeit Villa haven’t lifted the Cup since 1955 and Preston not since 1938 – and the competition looks as open as it has for some time.
Here, we pick out some topical stats and facts to preview Sunday’s two games…
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Preston v Aston Villa
The only tie of the FA Cup quarter-finals not between two Premier League clubs sees Championship Preston host an Aston Villa side who are also gearing up for a Champions League quarter-final. With the teams separated by 25 league places, it’s the biggest mismatch of the round on paper – which means potential for the biggest upset…
Preston are bidding to become the third second-tier outfit to reach the last four of the FA Cup in as many years, after Sheffield United in 2023 and Coventry in 2024. The Lancashire club haven’t made it this far since 1966; they’ve not been semi-finalists since two years previously, when they ended up losing in the final to West Ham.
Villa have reached the semis on 21 previous occasions – most recently in 2015, when they ultimately finished as runners-up to Arsenal. Unai Emery’s men come into this clash in good nick, having won four on the spin in all competitions and recorded successive away victories for the first time since September, so they’ll be confident of making that 21 into 22.
Bournemouth v Manchester City
Unlikely rivals in the Premier League’s enthralling race for Champions League qualification, Bournemouth and Manchester City will put that particular battle to one side as they look to take a step closer to silverware this season. And while seven-time FA Cup winners City are well-accustomed to triumphing at this stage of the competition – they’ve gone beyond the quarter-finals in each of the last six campaigns – Bournemouth are aiming to make club history by reaching the semis for the very first time.
Separated by five places but just four points in the Premier League table, Bournemouth and City’s first league encounter this term was an historic one: the Cherries recorded their maiden victory over the 10-time English champions, winning 2-1 at Vitality Stadium through goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson.
Somewhat forebodingly for the hosts, City have won 19 of the other 21 meetings between the clubs in all competitions – but Pep Guardiola’s team continue to stutter as they have for most of 2024/25, having lost five of their last 10 outings.
