Micah Richards makes Aston Villa fans claim after what he saw v Preston
Aston Villa proved too strong for Championship side Preston North End as Unai Emery’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory at Deepdale in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Villans have booked a semi-final berth in the FA Cup with their win over Paul Heckingbottom’s side as Emery fielded a strong eleven.
The Spanish manager did not start Ollie Watkins but Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Morgan Rogers were present in the attack.
Pundit Micah Richards was present at Deepdale, where he made an observation about the travelling Aston Villa fans.
Big away support for Aston Villa at Deepdale
The away support was fantastic for Villa in their FA Cup quarter-final as over 5,000 fans made the trip to Lancashire.
The ardent supporters have been waiting for over 29 years to see Villa lift a trophy and advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup is a big step towards ending the silverware drought.
Emery’s side are active in three competitions and have a solid chance of going all the way through to the FA Cup final as they are favourites on paper against Crystal Palace in the semis.
| Opposition | Home/Away |
| Brighton | Away |
| Nottingham Forest | Home |
| PSG | Away |
| Southampton | Away |
Former Villa player Richards was present at Deepdale and was impressed with the noise made by the away fans, and the stadium in general.
Talking on The Rest is Football podcast (31 March), he said: “I was doing that game at Deepdale.
“First of all, the atmosphere was great, it was a full house. The Villans like to travel in numbers but Preston also made a great atmosphere.”
Marcus Rashford stars in FA Cup win
Rashford scored a brace against Preston, showing his class throughout the 81 minutes he was on the pitch.
The Manchester United loanee is making a strong case for Villa to consider his permanent signing. Rashford has found his smile at Villa Park since arriving on loan, temporarily ending his tumultuous time at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim.
At Villa, Rashford is in contention to play Champions League football next season, something that Manchester United may not be able to offer.
The 27-year-old has six goal contributions in 10 appearances for the Midlands club and has forged a strong partnership with Watkins and Asensio in attack.
Villa fans love Rashford and would love to see him in the Claret and Blue permanently, but for a move to happen, both sides need to negotiate and the player will need to give his approval.
It is up to Rashford now to decide if he wants to leave his boyhood club and start a new chapter of his career at Villa or take another shot at succeeding at Manchester United.