Crystal Palace

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Crystal Palace goalscorer Eberechi Eze has been speaking to BBC Sport about the Eagles' sealing their spot in the FA Cup final: "A special day. I'm grateful to God for the opportunity to play here, to win, to go to the final. We want to go all the way and we believe we can do it."

On his goal: "I saw the opportunity to shoot. I'm always trying my luck, always taking shots. We work on this stuff all the time. I'm grateful to God that I have scored today and helped the team."

On his teammate Ismaila Sarr: "He is top. I probably got this [man of the match award] prematurely, so I will probably be giving it to him inside. But he has helped us so much this season."

On the potential to win Crystal Palace's first major trophy: "100% confident. We show performances like this all the time. We are not worried or fearful of facing anyone.

"I trust us that we will put in the work and hopefully we can do it."

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Crystal Palace have reached their third FA Cup final in their history, previously doing so in 1989-90 and 2015-16.

The Eagles have beaten Aston Villa in three of their four meetings in all competitions this season (D1). It is the first time they have beaten a side three times in the same season since 2015-16 against Stoke City.

Oliver Glasner's side recorded their 10th clean sheet in all competitions in 2025, the most of any Premier League side since the turn of the year.

Only Matheus Cunha and Bruno Fernandes (both 6) have scored more goals from outside the penalty area in all competitions this season, among Premier League players, than Eberechi Eze (5).

Were you at Wembley or following from elsewhere?

Palace fans, what did you make of the game?

What did you think of your team's performance, Villa fans?

Come back to this page on Sunday to find a selection of your replies

The first of two FA Cup semi-finals take place on Saturday live from Wembley and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Crystal Palace v Aston Villa (17:15)

Listen to full commentary from Wembley on BBC Radio 5 Live here

Follow all of the action and reaction here

It's interesting how Palace have got a good record against Villa this season.

They knocked them out of the Carabao Cup at Villa Park in October, led twice when they drew there in the league in November and then beat them 4-1 at Selhurst Park in February.

That will give the Eagles some confidence and, if they play like they did against Arsenal on Wednesday, they have got a great chance of getting through. They rested Jean-Philippe Mateta at the Emirates Stadium but created loads of chances and should have won.

It was a very different Palace performance to the one I watched when I was at St James' Park last week, when they were torn apart by Newcastle, so it's hard to know what to expect here.

The fact Villa have struggled against them this season shows what Palace are capable of, given how good Unai Emery's side have been.

As well as the FA Cup, Villa are still in the race for the top five and did so well to reach the Champions League quarter-finals too.

Emery deserves a bit of silverware to reflect the excellent job he has done but we know football doesn't work like that.

Villa were unlucky to lose to Manchester City on Tuesday but the question is whether they have got another big performance in them, like the ones they have produced in Europe.

My head tells me that if Villa turn up then Palace won't beat them again, but I still think this will be extremely close and it will go to extra-time before Villa's bench wins it for them.

Sutton's prediction: 2-3 after extra-time

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner suggested it was unfair that Aston Villa had an extra day to prepare for their FA Cup semi-final but does that actually have an impact?

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown addresses the issue on The Football News Show...

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

We asked for your team talk to the Crystal Palace players before the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Rich: Wake up, turn up! Believe in the system - when we do we can beat anyone. Winning this game is not the goal. Winning this game gives us an opportunity to reach our goal. We have to work for it, as individuals and as a team, all as one and really give the fans another big game and create history.

Gary: Attack. Be on the front foot. Don't give Villa time and space on the ball. Trust yourselves and your team-mates. We can do this. Come on, LET'S GO!

Al: Relax, enjoy and don't have any regrets.

Ethan: Up and at them, Palace. Be bold in the tackles and put them under pressure when out of possession. Win the 50-50s and break fast with the immense speed and talent we have in our front three. Just be patient without the ball as we have all season, and don't break your lines of defence. That will bring us glory and the FA Cup win we have long dreamed of, guys. Now go out there and make your dream a reality. No fear, no fear, no fear.

Mel: Be brave and trust your instincts. On the day, there isn't a team Palace can't match for skill, so get on your front foot and believe for the full 90 plus minutes. Eeeeeaagleessss!!

Fergus: You know what it means to the Palace fans. You've earned their respect, iration and love. You've earned the right to lace it up on the hallowed Wembley turf. Now earn the right to come back and do it all again. Come on, you Palace.

John: Boys. This is your moment, most of you have never played a game like this before. The greats have played here, lads. Time to make your mark. Be loud. Be proud. Be Palace.

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley (kick-off 17:15 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Glasner stated that "everyone was in good mood" for the trip to Wembley as the "goal is to win the game and get to the final".

• On team news: "Ben Chilwell is back and fit [after his illness]. So, we have everyone available."

• Glasner also claimed that he had never watched an FA Cup final until he got to Palace due to the unavailability of internet when he was growing up.

• On playing at Wembley: "We'll enjoy it, it's the biggest stadium in England, it's very traditional and we can play in front of 40,000 Crystal Palace fans. But I don't care if we played at Selhurst Park or Villa Park, we would try to win. The approach is no different."

• Glasner also tried to play down the significance of the fixture personally as this would be the "third consecutive final" he would have participated in. The German coach, however, reiterated that "it's a big game".

• On Villa and preparations to face them: "They (Aston Villa) are in great shape – they have eight wins out of the last 10. They have their whole squad available. It's a game, I don't want to make it bigger than it is. We feel well prepared and we have confidence especially with the performance at the Emirates and this is how we'll enter Wembley."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

It is a landmark day at Wembley for Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final.

It means a lot, we know that. So, if you were in the changing room 15 minutes before the off, what would you say to the players?

Send your words here

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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is looking to become the first Austrian manager to reach an FA Cup final and Austria would be the first new nation represented by a manager in the showpiece event since in 2021 (Thomas Tuchel for Chelsea).

Image source, Getty Images

Like Nottingham Forest versus Manchester City, Crystal Palace against Aston Villa is an FA Cup semi-final of contrasting styles.

Palace do not necessarily keep a lot of possession, but they have got the ability to attack at high speed.

The Eagles' ers - and Villa's - do not get the chance to travel to Wembley all the time for big cup matches, so it will be a a huge occasion for both clubs.

Up until two or three weeks ago, Palace looked like one of the most solid teams in the Premier League.

All of a sudden, they get hit for five - two weeks in a row.

So, that has not only cast doubt over how we perceive them from the outside, but there will be players in the team who probably are not as comfortable as they were a fortnight ago. Maybe there are hints of doubt.

It is really tough to call, but it might be one of those games dictated by that first goal, because the two styles of play are not that similar.

However, the desire and the drive to try to win that game to get in the final is going to be enormous.

Palace beat Villa comfortably 4-1 at home in February so they will have a belief that they can go and do it again.

They will not fear Unai Emery's side. The biggest challenge is internal because they have never won a major trophy.

It is such a big occasion and I think that makes it a really interesting game.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Crystal Palace drew at Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: A fighting performance from Palace and what a goal from Mateta! I felt the team deserved a draw. I'm so pleased for them, as they approach a huge game at the weekend. They need to stop conceding so easily though because Ollie Watkins and others will punish them on Saturday. Tighten up, take their chances and the FA Cup final beckons.

Mark: They worked their socks off to grab a point at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were not on their A game, but we can only perform against what is in front of us. Bring on the Villa.

Andy: A great performance with plenty of encouragement for Saturday's semi-final. No real negatives from the game, however you can see that Eddie Nketiah is lacking confidence which I believe is mainly due to game time. He creates space for the team with good runs but he needs to find the goals that he had at Arsenal. I'm confident he will though. Keep it going boys.

Milt: A brave and courageous performance from Crystal Palace against mighty Arsenal.

Rich: One of the most enjoyable performances for a while with two brilliant goals. The whole team were disciplined. We kept our shape, attacked when we had the chance and were really unlucky to only get a draw in the end. Apart from the two goals, we kept Arsenal to half chances. Eberechi Eze stepped up, Ismaila Sarr and Mateta looked great, a special mention for Daichi Kamada who was excellent, and Justin Devenny was great defensively for Daniel Munoz. Are we hitting some form again? I hope so!

Ben: Much more like it from Palace. There was great energy to fashion several chances against a good Arsenal side. Our attack looked dangerous and our defensive shape was much-improved after recent thrashings. Overall, a massive boost ahead of the semi-final - bring it on!

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, PA Media

Crystal Palace's focus is now on a cup semi-final with Aston Villa the opposition at Wembley on Saturday.

The Eagles are safe in 12th position in the Premier League and their hopes of a path into Europe rest on winning the FA Cup.

Oliver Glasner was unlikely to change the 3-4-2-1 formation that has brought Palace some excellent results this season, though he did leave top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta on the bench.

The Eagles defended poorly at times in the first half but did have opportunities to take all three points, which would have meant Liverpool wrapping up the title.

Justin Devenny and Ismaila Sarr both had good chances in the second half with close-range headers, but neither caused Arsenal keeper Davud Raya problems.

Palace will need to defend better than at Emirates Stadium if they are to reach the FA Cup final - but Glasner will surely be pleased with the goals his side scored.

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta spoke to BBC Sport about his goal that rescued a point against Arsenal: "When I started on the bench, I could see he [David Raya] was very high up the pitch. So I knew if I won the ball, I could try, so I did and scored. It is one of the best goals of my career. I thought it hit the crossbar but thankfully it was in!"

On the trip to Wembley to play Aston Villa on Saturday: "We can go in with confidence and hopefully we will win the semi-final. It is a very big game for the fans, for everybody and I can't wait to play.

On his own form: "I am very happy. Hopefully I will score more goals. Fourteen goals is good but I hope for much more."

Did you know?

• Since Oliver Glasner's first Premier League game in charge of Crystal Palace, only Alexander Isak (32), Erling Haaland (31) and Mohamed Salah (30) have more Premier League goals than Jean-Philippe Mateta (27).

• Eberechi Eze netted his 30th Premier League goal for the Eagles, becoming the fourth player to reach that tally after Wilfried Zaha (68), Jean-Philippe Mateta (38) and Christian Benteke (35).

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner spoke to Sky Sports after Wednesday's draw at Arsenal: "Excellent. Credit to the players. The reaction [to recent results] was amazing. I'm proud of what the players showed.

"We scored amazing goals. I watched many Arsenal games and I can't a team with as many clear chances as we had.

"We want to show our identity and personality. It's important to keep this energy and confidence for the semi-final on Saturday.

"It was not our goal to decide the title - it was our goal to win the game. I think a draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on track. That's what we needed."