Mateta has been superb for Crystal Palace this season, notching 14 goals across his 33 Premier League appearances, making him the Eagles’ top scorer by some distance. He’s had 29 shots on target across these games (1.07 per 90).

Mateta scored in the most recent head-to-head meeting between these sides which ended in a 4-1 win for Crystal Palace. He also found the target in the 2-2 draw at Villa Park earlier in the season. 

He can take advantage of a vulnerable Villa backline which has only kept six clean sheets in the Premier League this season, only Fulham and the three promoted sides have kept fewer clean sheets than Villa. Mateta comes into this game having scored an excellent goal against Arsenal to earn Palace a point at the Emirates in midweek.

Tielemans has arguably been Villa’s best player this season, he’s trusted by Unai Emery as displayed by the fact he’s started all 34 of Villa’s games in the Premier League, often going on to see out the whole 90 minutes.

He’s won 53 fouls across his 34 Premier League games this season (1.63 per 90) which is a record born out of Tielemans’ excellent ability to remain press resistant and win fouls when the opposition press high up the pitch. Tielemans was hauled down once in each of the two meetings against Palace this season.

He’ll line up against a Crystal Palace midfield which could find themselves outnumbered at times with Villa’s tendency to flood central areas, especially early on in the game. Will Hughes is likely to be his direct opponent, Hughes committed four fouls in the recent meeting between the sides and is averaging a notable 2.88 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season. 

Both head-to-head meetings between these sides this season have seen BTTS. Crystal Palace ran out 4-1 winners in the most recent clash at Selhurst Park, while the points were shared at Villa Park in a 2-2 draw. This game also promises goals, neither side will get a better opportunity to make it to an FA Cup final, seeing as only Man City of the traditional top six sides are still left in the competition.

Villa have had issues with defensive inconsistency all season, they’ve seen BTTS in four of their last five games across all competitions, with the exception coming against bottom placed side Southampton. Palace have seen BTTS in three of their last five games across all competitions and have conceded a worrying 12 goals across their last three away games.

Villa have only kept six clean sheets in the Premier League all season, so it would be a surprise if they can keep Palace out, who put in an excellent performance at the Emirates last time out. Look for both sides to score.

Palace are a real threat from corners, Lacroix and Guehi in particular are excellent aerial threats that Oliver Glasner has used to his advantage - Palace have scored more goals from set pieces this season than any other side in the Premier League so it’s something they can look to utilise in this semi final.

Palace are averaging 4.59 corners per game in the Premier League this season, they fell below this line in both head to head meetings with Villa this campaign but we should see this change here given the knockout nature of the tie which should encourage Palace to offer an attacking threat, particularly if they fall behind in the game.

Crystal Palace have racked up 4+ corners in four of their last five games in the Premier League, with the exception coming against Brighton in what was a hectic game with three red cards, so it’s no surprise that the pattern was broken. They’ve come in over this line in games against Manchester City, Arsenal and Newcastle - all away from home, which suggests that they can offer a threat from corners again here.

Ollie Watkins grabbed the headlines following his excellent performance in Villa’s 4-1 demolition of Newcastle in their most recent Premier League outing at Villa Park. The forward claimed that he was fuming with being left out of the starting lineup of both legs of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final against PSG. Interestingly, Emery benched Watkins again in their 2-1 defeat to Man City last time out, in what was a big blow in their hunt for a Champions League finish. He's expected to come back into the team here.

Watkins is both a threat in front of the goal and when it comes to creating chances, he’s registered 29 goal contributions across his 49 appearances in all competitions this season (16 goals, 13 assists). The assist total, in particular, highlights the difference between Watkins and traditional strikers.

Watkins scored in the 2-2 draw between the sides at Villa Park and also assisted Morgan Rogers for the goal Villa scored in their 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace a few months ago. He can continue this streak here and is bound to be motivated after being left out of the starting lineup again against City.

Hughes struggled in the middle of the park against Aston Villa, despite Palace coming away 4-1 winners. He committed four fouls and was shown a yellow card in just 58 minutes of action before he was hooked.

Hughes should be just as busy here up against an Aston Villa side that like to overload central areas, a part of the pitch where Palace can be vulnerable, seeing as they usually only have two bodies operating in those spaces. He’s likely to be up against Youri Tielemans, who is averaging 1.63 fouls won per 90 and was brought down once in the initial meeting between the sides.

Hughes is averaging 2.88 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season, which is a record that has resulted in 11 cautions for the 30-year-old, more than any other Crystal Palace player this season. His most recent caution came at St James’ Park in where he was faced with a similarly tough midfield battle up against Joelinton, Tonali and Guimaraes.

Villa’s poor defensive record this season has shone the spotlight on Emi Martinez, who has dropped down a few levels from his performances last season but is still one of the most reliable keepers in the Premier League. He’s averaging 2.72 saves per game in the Premier League this season and was forced into making two stops in the first half of the game at Selhurst Park, before being replaced due to injury.

Martinez was forced into making four saves in the 2-2 draw between the sides at Villa Park earlier in the season, Oliver Glasner has constructed a very effective frontline that have already shown that they can trouble a Villa backline that has only kept six clean sheets in the Premier League.

Palace’s attacking success against Villa in the recent head-to-head meetings suggests that they will cause Martinez quite a few problems here, especially with their brilliant ability in transition, which can be difficult to stop.

Siding with Villa as the team with superior quality seems a sensible choice for this FA Cup semi-final. Palace enter this game in poor form, having failed to win any of their last four games in the Premier League and, worryingly, conceding 12 goals across these games. These games have been quite tough but highlight the ceiling on this Palace side when facing some of the more elite sides in the division, especially away from Selhurst Park.

These sides played out a 2-2 draw in the first league meeting at Villa Park before Palace fired four past Villa in the return fixture. However, we shouldn’t look too much into the result at Selhurst Park, seeing as Unai Emery completely changed his tactical approach for that game, and it backfired. We are unlikely to see the same approach from Emery here, which should produce an even contest that is decided by small margins. Villa should have the quality to avoid defeat.