Aston Villa boss Unai Emery expects ‘very difficult’ match against Crystal Palace in FA Cup semis

LONDON – Unai Emery has a reputation as a silverware specialist, in particular because of his four Europa League triumphs with Sevilla and Villarreal in Spain.

The Aston Villa manager is hoping to win his first trophy in English football to add to his impressive resume, which includes multiple titles with French giants Paris Saint-Germain as well.

But first, the Spaniard will need to plot a way past Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals on April 26, with the winners taking on either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest, who meet a day later.

“My expectation is that it will be a very difficult match because they’re motivated and in a good moment. They played very well in the last match against Arsenal (a 2-2 draw),” said Emery.

“Every semi-final we’re facing is always difficult. Because every team is there because they deserve it. We are motivated like them, and we want to play this match getting our best performances individually and collectively.

“My challenge when I arrived here was to get some trophies. This is one opportunity because we’re in a semi-final, but there is still a lot of work to do.

“At the end, the objective is to win, but the process is the really important thing.”

Villa have defeated Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Cardiff City en route to their first FA Cup semi-final in a decade.

They head into this big clash in mixed form, as a 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle United last weekend was followed by a 2-1 loss to Manchester City in midweek, leaving the team two points adrift of the Champions League spots.

Both the Premier League and FA Cup are equally important, and Emery will hope that a 17-game scoring sequence across all competitions will mean that his team will get the goals needed against Palace.

There is another subplot, as Villa will aim to gain some revenge after they were knocked out of the League Cup by the Eagles earlier this season. They also suffered a heavy 4-1 loss at Selhurst Park in February.

Emery will be glad that he has a fully fit squad, with the only absentee being the Cup-tied Axel Disasi.

While Villa are seeking their eighth FA Cup win, the Eagles have never won this competition. Twice before they made it to the final, but they lost both times to Manchester United – in 1990 and 2016.

Glasner is hoping that it will be third time lucky as they build on wins over Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall and an impressive 3-0 victory over Fulham in the quarter-finals.

Palace head into the match with a poor four-game winless run, but showed that they can be on a par with the big guns following their English Premier League draw with Arsenal in midweek.

Like Villa, who have been finding the net, Glasner’s men have also scored multiple goals in eight of their last 10 matches away from Selhurst Park – so Wembley should be of little issue, if they can rise to the occasion.

“Playing a semi-final is always great, but it’s just a semi-final. It’s clear that the goal is to win the game and go to the final,” said Glasner.

“It’s a big game for us. Villa are in great shape. 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, especially with the performance at the Emirates and this is how we’ll enter Wembley.”