Photo Credit: Imago

Matthew Wilkinson

Fri 28 March 2025 16:00, UK

Aston Villa are gearing up for the FA Cup quarter-final with a surprise supporter in their corner.

The Villans are having an impressive campaign once again under Unai Emery, but this season, they are aiming to go one step further and win some silverware.

Qualifying for the Champions League was enough during the previous campaign to entertain audiences, but now supporters are hungry for more, and the FA Cup could serve as a method of fulfilling that.

However, they must first get past Preston North End on Saturday (29 March) when they face the Championship side in the quarter-finals.

Aston Villa are being backed by Gary Neville

The FA Cup quarter-final stage features teams that aren’t traditionally in this situation, bar Man City, which is bringing an unexpected element to the competition.

Having only one of the traditional ‘big six’ teams in the final eight is opening up a level of opportunity for other teams, while forcing football fans to choose who they’d like to see lift the trophy at the end of the season.

Villa last won the competition in 1957, but during the latest episode of The Overlap, Gary Neville admitted he’s backing Emery’s men.

He said, “I want Villa to win; I want Villa to win the trophy,” while Jamie Carragher backed Fulham or Bournemouth.

Aston Villa could do something special this season

Villa might remain in the FA Cup, but it’s not the only competition that they could end up winning this season, as there’s a chance that the team will do the double.

It might have seemed unthinkable at the start of the season, but now the final stages have been reached, the club are in a position to push for two different trophies.

That’s because they also remain in the Champions League, where they will face PSG in the quarter-finals as they aim to progress further.