Unai Emery has the chance to “sniff” Wembley’s unique atmosphere when he brings Aston Villa to their FA Cup semi-finals against Crystal Palace tomorrow.
Villa hasn’t won the FA Cup since 1957, but can take an important step by seeing the palace and establishing a final conflict with Manchester City or Nottingham Forest.
The Cup victory will represent Villa step by step, and they will also return to Emery’s UEFA Champions League.
🗣️ Tomorrow is unai on our opponents: “They are a team that plays great football and I respect this coach because he is a winning coach.”
Read the boss’s game preview below⬇️
— Aston Villa (@avfcomial) April 25, 2025
The FA Cup still has special appeal
The experienced Spaniard has managed throughout Europe, but he says he is still obsessed with the FA Cup.
He said: “I am a coach, I like, I like my career, my job. I smell good stadiums, good stadiums, I like it. I will like it tomorrow.
“Of course, I have a huge responsibility to try to respond well with the players. But in reality, I’m very happy to be in games like tomorrow and there’s a chance we’ll share something special with our supporters tomorrow because I know that supporters are supporters, which is a very special thing.”
His last defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday night put Villa in trouble for the European Championship qualifiers, but Emory insists they will continue to fight on both sides to achieve their goals.
He added: “When you start the season, you will try to set some goals at the end of the season with four games – Premier League, UEFA Champions League or Europe, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.”
“Of course, we are still in two games now, it’s the Premier League because it’s 38 games and the FA Cup.
“We focus on every game in every game, trying to get the best. It is an obvious goal in Europe. The first way to get into Europe is through the Premier League. However, by winning the trophy in the FA Cup, you can be excellent in the Europa League.
“This is the second goal we can achieve in the game. Now, we can’t just choose one game. We are strongly choosing two games because we have two ways to achieve our goals.”
Preparation for the semi-finals of the FA Cup pic.twitter.com/wqj9my7dph
— Aston Villa (@avfcomial) April 25, 2025
Praise Crystal Palace and owner Glasner
The Palace is the trajectory on the other hand, Emery is an admirer of the South Londoner and his coach Oliver Glasner, especially after the 4-1 Premier League defeat of Villa in February.
Emery said: “We always respect them. But they do a great job with us. We will try to determine again that we dominate the game, impose our position, combine with the players, our individual duels. They are a team that plays great football, great football.
“And I respect this coach because he is a winning coach. He won the Europa League and had a really great experience with Crystal Palace in England this year. He made it to the semifinals and performed well.
“Sometimes he didn’t get a record and did better in the league, but they did a great job. Against us, they showed that, of course, you know that, I respect them very much.”
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