FA Cup 2024-25: The road to the semi-finals, draw, odds & predictions

The semi-finals of the 2024/25 FA Cup scheduled to be staged at Wembley Stadium.

All reputable betting sites will be inundated with wagers as punters strive to predict the outcome of each of the last four ties.

With that in mind, read on as we look at how each of the teams reached this stage of the competition before predicting who we think will reach the final.

Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

	CRYSTAL PALACE	ASTON VILLA
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Round 4	Doncaster Rovers (A) – W2-0	Tottenham Hotspur (H) - W2-1
Round 5	Millwall (H) – W3-1	Cardiff City (H) – W2-0
QF	Fulham (A) – W3-0	Preston North End (A) – W3-0

Palace overcame lower league opposition to reach the quarter-finals, defeating Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers and Millwall without too much fuss.

Fulham were expected to give Palace plenty of problems in their last eight tie at Craven Cottage, but the visitors had other ideas.

Eberechi Eze gave Palace the lead with an excellent strike in the 34th minute, before setting up Ismaila Sarr for the second goal four minutes later.

Eddie Nketiah added a third with 15 minutes remaining to send Palace through to their first FA Cup semi-final since the 2021/22 season.

Villa had to come from behind to defeat West Ham in the third round, but produced a more polished performance to see off Tottenham Hotspur in round four.

Cardiff City made life difficult in the fifth round before two second half goals by Marco Asensio finally broke their resistance.

Preston North End kept things tight in the first half of the quarter-final, but goals after the break by Marcus Rashford (2) and Jacob Ramsey sealed an emphatic victory.

Villa are rated as 3/1 shots by online bookmakers to win the FA Cup, while Palace are a best-priced 5/1 to get their hands on the trophy.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

Forest eased passed Luton in round three, but have found things much more difficult in three subsequent ties in the competition.

They have frayed their supporters’ nerves after being pushed to penalty shoot-outs in each of the last three rounds by Exeter, Ipswich and Brighton.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side defeated Man City 1-0 when they faced each other in the Premier League in March and their latest meeting could be equally tight.

While City have not been at their brilliant best this season, they have shown plenty of determination to progress to the last four in the FA Cup.

They demolished Salford City in round three, before battling back from the shock of conceding an early goal at Leyton Orient to win their fourth-round tie.

Plymouth also took the lead against City in the fifth round, but goals by Nico O’Reilly (2) and Kevin De Bruyne ensured the home side progressed to the quarter-finals.

An upset was on the cards as Bournemouth led 1-0 in their last-eight encounter, but City recovered to claim a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals by Erling Braut Haaland and Omar Marmoush.

The bookies rate Man City as 11/0 shots to win their 8^th FA Cup title, while Forest are the outsiders at 11/2.

Villa and City fancied to set up epic final

Villa and Man City are the bookies’ favourites to win their respective semi-final ties and it is difficult to argue with their assessment.

Palace have been in decent form during the second half of the season, but their recent 5-2 league defeat at Man City highlighted some deficiencies in their squad.

Villa did some shrewd business during the winter transfer window and odds of 3/4 to progress to the final on May 17 look too good to ignore.

Man City’s odds of 4/5 to defeat Forest in 90 minutes also look decent value, particularly given they have no other silverware to play for.

While Forest are still in contention to qualify for the Champions League, their recent performances have not matched the form they showed in the first half of the season.

They were lacklustre in their recent 1-0 home defeat against Everton in the league and will need to improve to have any chance of beating City.

Pep Guardiola’s side will be eager to salvage something from an underwhelming season and are fancied to set up a Wembley showdown against Villa.