Aston Villa to face Crystal Palace as FA Cup semi-final draw revealed

Nottingham Forest will play Manchester City after Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to win at Bournemouth

The semi-final draw took place on Sunday (The FA via Getty Images)

Crystal Palace have been drawn against Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Nottingham Forest will face Manchester City.

The semi-finals will be held at Wembley on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April, with history on the line as Forest, Villa and Crystal Palace aim to become just the fourth team in the last 30 years to disrupt the dominance of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City and Manchester United in this competition.

For Crystal Palace, victory in the final at Wembley would secure their first major trophy, while Forest last won the FA Cup in 1959 and Villa even further back, in 1957.

City, who last won the FA Cup in 2023 and lost the final to Manchester United last year, are very much out to maintain the status quo and they came from behind at Bournemouth to reach the semi-finals for the seventh consecutive season.

A London derby on Saturday saw Crystal Palace sweep aside Fulham to become the first team to progress to the last four, while Nottingham Forest required penalties to edge out Brighton later on.

Aston Villa powered past Preston North End - the only Championship side left in the draw - at Deepdale earlier on Sunday, with Marcus Rashford’s renaissance under Unai Emery culminating in two second-half goals as they won 3-0.

City completed the FA Cup semi-final line-up and will play Nottingham Forest at Wembley after coming from behind to beat Bournemouth in the last remaining quarter-final tie.

Guardiola’s side kept their hopes of winning silverware this season alive as goals from Erling Haaland and substitute Omar Marmoush - who replaced Haaland when the striker suffered an ankle injury - secured a hard-fought 2-1 win.

Marmoush scored with virtually his first touch after Haaland went over his ankle under the challenge of Lewis Cook. The Egyptian snuck a strike under Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had saved a penalty from Haaland in the first half of the quarter-final.

It was one of three big chances missed by Haaland when the game was goalless and Bournemouth looked as if they would punish City when Evalison scrambled in the opener to put the home side 45 minutes away from the club’s first ever FA Cup semi-final.

But City turned it around after half-time to book a Wembley date with high-flying Forest, with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace facing off in the other semi-final.

Palace have reached the final twice, losing in 1990 and 2016, and for two-time winners Nottingham Forest this is their first last-four appearance - and would be their first final - since 1991, when they were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur.

Villa have had the most success of the confirmed semi-finalists so far, having won the tournament seven times, but will have painful memories of their last appearance at Wembley, when they lost 4-0 to Arsenal in 2015.