2025 FA Cup Semi Finals Preview

The famed Wembley stadium awaits the Semi Finalists in the 2025 edition of the FA Challenge Cup.

In a season where we have seen some of the traditional powers struggle in the league and some surprise packets emerge, it has been the same story in the cup with Manchester City the only “Big Six” still in the competition.

However the other three remaining clubs will all feel like this might be their best chance at ending trophy droughts that range from 29 to 146 years.

For Crystal Palace it would be a first FA Cup title in team history but first they have to get past Aston Villa in the first Semi Final while Nottingham Forest will be dreaming of a massive upset when they take on City.

Find our previews and best bets for every game below.

For the fourth time this season, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa will face off and based on the recent history, the Eagles are a phenomenal chance of springing an upset.

Their first meeting was in the Carabao Cup with Palace beating a somewhat rotated Villa 2-1, before a 2-2 draw at Villa Park and a 4-1 Palace win in the league.

That last result does come with a bit of a caveat as it was Villa’s fifth match in 16 days and also in the midst of their run to the Champions League Quarter Finals.

Not to mention, Villa’s form over the last few months is nearly perfect, with two draws and three defeats from 18 matches and never losing back to back contests.

Palace played much harder than expected on Thursday morning (AEST) against Arsenal, picking up a 2-2 draw at the Emirates, but it might come back to haunt them here.

They have now gone four matches without a win and have been on the wrong end of some bad results.

Take the better team on slightly longer rest to get the job done.

Aston Villa to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.15

It is a much better story for everyone involved if Nottingham Forest advance to the FA Cup Final, and there is a case for that to happen.

Forest beat City 1-0 in March and have been a better team across the balance of the season.

But this is still Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and they have looked like the side most expected them to be as of late with seven wins from their last ten matches.

They fought for an important win over Villa during the week and that momentum is tough to ignore.

Even though they have been playing in some lower scoring matches than we are used to, City just knows how to win at this time of year.

Manchester City to Win and Under 3.5 Goals @ $2.50

2024

Wembley Stadium takes centre stage for English football this weekend with the Semi Finals of the FA Cup set to take place.

Just like the 2023 edition, the two Manchester based Premier League clubs are once again featuring in this penultimate round of the tournament and this season they are heavily favoured to qualify for next month’s final.

Manchester City will face a unique challenge in the form of Chelsea who are experiencing a late season revival with one of the more entertaining attacks in the league.

Meanwhile, Manchester United faces the Cinderella story in Championship club Coventry City, who will be desperate to become the first second tier club to make the FA Cup Final since Cardiff City in 2008.

Read on for our FA Cup best bets and previews below!

For the first time since December 7, Manchester City will be coming off a loss and it was a devastating one at that with their Champions League title defence coming to an end on penalties at home to Real Madrid.

Chelsea will not be feeling all that sympathetic however with the Blues suddenly (and some would say finally) in a rich vein of goalscoring form.

They showcased a ruthless side of them for once on Tuesday morning with a 6-0 win over Everton and they will be fancying their chances of causing some havoc on a Man City defence that has kept just two clean sheets in its last 11 outings.

Chelsea will also have the confidence of playing out a pair of draws with City this season despite their overall struggles in the Premier League, with the match at Stamford Bridge finishing 4-4 before a 1-1 stalemate at the Etihad.

In spite of all of those factors, I still cannot bring myself to back against Manchester City, as rarely as they lose, it is even more rare for them to drop consecutive matches and Pep Guardiola should have something up his sleeve here.

Manchester City to Win and Both Teams to Score @ $2.80

With their promotion hopes all but over, Coventry can put all of their eggs in the FA Cup basket and try to spring one of the all time upsets on Manchester United.

Neither team is enjoying the most successful run of results at the moment with Coventry losing three of their last four, although you can’t help but wonder if they have had one eye on this match.

United is not exactly flying either with three draws and a defeat since their extra time epic win over Liverpool in the Quarter Finals.

It has been a long time since these two clubs faced off, in a competitive match with the most recent meeting coming in September 2007 during the League Cup, which Coventry won 2-0.

Things have gone in very different directions for the two clubs since then and despite their respective struggles, I just can’t escape the fact that United are a much better side and should put an end to the Coventry fairytale.

Manchester United to Win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 @ $3.40

2023

Wembley takes centre stage in European football this weekend with the FA Cup Semi Finals providing us with a pair fascinating clashes under the arch.

In the early hours of Sunday morning Manchester City will continue their pursuit of a treble when they host Championship side Sheffield United, with the Blades starting as massive underdogs.

24 hours later we have an all Premier League clash with the story of the season, Brighton & Hove Albion reaching this stage for the third time in their history.

They have drawn Manchester United as their opponent, with the Red Devils chasing their first FA Cup win since 2016 as well as the first trophy of the Erik ten Haag era.

We’ve got you covered with our FA Cup match previews and best bets for both fixtures below so read on and see who we are backing.

Let’s not pretend this is shaping up as some sort of close match up, this is very much a Monstars vs Tune Squad, Ducks v Hawks, Team USA v Iceland, Cowboys v Little Giants situation, except unlike in the movies, the plucky underdog is going to lose.

It’s just a case of how much City win by and finding a betting play that has some value to it.

Perhaps the biggest source of intrigue around this match is what sort of squad Pep Guardiola will deploy, given that this is sandwiched between two massively important fixtures in their push for the Champions League and Premier League titles.

There will be no shortage of options if City do rotate but it does make the player markets a stay away just in the event of Erling Haaland getting a rest ahead of Thursday morning’s clash with Arsenal.

Compare that to Sheffield’s lengthy injury list and the fact they are also coming off midweek duties with a league match against Bristol just adds to the already significant degree of difficulty.

Even though City have conceded a goal in four of their last five outings, Sheffield’s attack is far from prolific and you have to like the Premier League side’s chances of winning with a clean sheet.

Back Manchester City to Win to Nil @ $1.87

If you were in any doubt over how good Brighton’s season has been, consider that they are heading into this match as (very slight) favourites to defeat Manchester United in 90 minutes.

While not many knew of it at the time, Brighton gave us an idea of where they were going this season on the opening weekend when they went to Old Trafford and knocked off Manchester United 2-1.

That has laid the platform for their remarkable season and they will bring some strong form into this contest, with their only loss since the start of March coming in controversial circumstances at Tottenham.

United might be in third place in the league however it has been a far from ideal season for them with inconsistencies costing them a title shot, however an FA Cup to go with their Carabao Cup would make for a decent conclusion to an eventful campaign.

However at this point, you have to back the story of the Seagulls, Brighton have been so impressive this season and regardless of what issues are thrown their way, they just seem to find ways to keep winning.

Extra time is certainly a possibility here but Brighton is playing with plenty of confidence and the value on them to win in 90 minutes is well worth taking.

Back Brighton to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.45

2022

We’re off to Wembley for the Semi Finals of the world’s oldest cup competition.

As has been the case in every season since 2016, it’s an all Premier League edition of the FA Cup final four.

League title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool are set to face off in the first Semi Final that promises to be an epic encounter.

Crystal Palace will take on the role of Cinderella in the second Semi Final when they take on a Chelsea side that is trying to keep its last chance of silverware alive.

We’ve got our previews and best bets for both FA Cup Semi Finals below so read on and see who we are backing.

Six days after their epic Premier League encounter, Manchester City and Liverpool will renew their rivalry for the third time this season.

Unlike their 2-2 draws at Anfield and the Etihad, one club will have to win on the day and the possibility of extra time and even penalties appears to be a very realistic possibility.

Both clubs will be backing up from their respective Champions League duties and the short turnaround suggests this might be played at a slightly more cautious pace than what we saw last weekend.

Whichever way you look at this, you cannot split these two clubs and it could be won by whichever side has the legs beyond 90 minutes.

Take the match to be level at the end of the second half

Back the Draw (90 Minutes) @ $3.50

How will Chelsea respond to their heartbreaking Champions League elimination in Madrid on Wednesday morning?

They’ll try to make the most of their last chance at silverware for the season and will enter this game as clear favourites over Crystal Palace.

It has been four and a half years and nine matches since the Blues last dropped a match to the Eagles, however Patrick Vieira has built this Palace side into an impressive and resilient outfit.

Perhaps it is just the magic of the cup coming through, but Palace are a better chance than what the market suggests.

Their attack can get after a fatigued Chelsea backline and if Zaha can put himself in scoring positions, he can swing the tide of the tie.

Back Crystal Palace to Qualify @ $3.60

2021

Two very different FA Cup Semi Finals await us this weekend with both sides just two victories away from winning football’s oldest cup competition.

Manchester City’s quest for a historic quadruple has entered a critical week as they will face Chelsea on the back of a Champions League Quarter Final against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday morning.

In the other Semi Final, Southampton will look to take some positivity out of a miserable 2021 to date by upsetting Leicester.

It promises to be a weekend full of drama at Wembley so read on to find out who we are backing in the FA Cup Semi Finals.

The FA Cup draw has given us an absolute belter to kick off Semi Final weekend.

Both sides head into this match on the back of midweek Champions League duties (still to be played at the time of publish) as they try and reach the Semi Finals of that competition as well.

It has been a long and gruelling season for the players and perhaps the insanely demanding fixture list is starting to catch up with the sport’s elite.

City will have 24 hours less rest as they return from Germany however Pep Guardiola will likely deploy a full-strength squad knowing the challenge Chelsea will present to his side.

The most recent meeting between these teams can be thrown out with City recording a 3-1 victory in the final days of the Frank Lampard era.

Since then, Thomas Tuchel’s backline has been tough to break down with only West Brom scoring more than one goal against them since the German took over.

Conversely, only Manchester United has kept City scoreless since Christmas so we should be in for a real clash of philosophies and styles.

I like City to win this one, most likely in 90 minutes, but considering the short rest and Cheslea’s innate stubbornness, the price at publish is just a bit too short for comfort.

Instead I’ll put my money towards a low scoring affair as a 1-0 or 2-0 scoreline certainly seems like something we will be reading about Sunday morning.

Back Under 2.5 Goals @ $1.82

It’s fair to say Leicester’s lead in to this fixture is less than ideal with back to back Premier League defeats following the international break.

Brendan Rodgers’ side has looked nothing like the team that climbed to third place over the first six months of the season, but this slump does not look permanent.

Southampton has saved its good performances for this competition winning four matches to reach this stage.

By comparison, they have won just two Premier League matches since New Years’ Day.

We know Cup football can bring out the best side of even the poorest of teams but I can’t back the Saints run to continue beyond this weekend.

I’ll take the Foxes to end Southampton’s run this weekend and book a return date to Wembley in four weeks.

Back Leicester to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.00

2020

The oldest cup competition in football is down to its final four teams and they all have plenty of experience at the business end of the tournament.

13-time winners Arsenal will take on the defending FA Cup champions Manchester City in the first semi final, with the Gunners 3-0 Premier League embarrassment last month still fresh in their minds.

On the other side of the draw it’s Manchester United and Chelsea facing off as both sides are competing with each other for a top four spot in the Premier League as well.

We’ve got our previews and predictions for both FA Cup Semi Finals here so read on to see who we are backing!

If there was one competition that Arsenal might be able to spring an upset over Manchester City, it would be in the FA Cup.

Their last triumph in this competition came in 2017 and included a Semi Final win over Manchester City.

While every Gunners fan would love to see their club come away with a win, City’s form in this matchup is ridiculous.

Since that win at Wembley three years ago, City has won the last seven meetings, all by two or more goals and they have kept Arsenal scoreless in five of those matches, including in their most recent meeting in June.

While a Gunners upset is offering great value, there is no way you can back them with any confidence at the moment, no matter how motivated they are going into this match.

SGM: Manchester City to Win (90 Minutes) & Over 2.5 Goals @ $1.75

Neither of these sides will turn down a chance to win the FA Cup but for both this is secondary to their race for the top four in the Premier League.

United has dominated Chelsea over the last 18 months, winning four of the last five meetings and drawing the other, the only concern is over squad burnout with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer relying heavily on a few key players over the last month.

If they can rally for the big occasion, they should manage to get by Chelsea here and there’s plenty of value on offer with the market struggling to split the teams.

Back Manchester United to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.38

2019

It’s football’s oldest cup competition and four Premier League sides are off to Wembley for a place in the 2019 FA Cup Final.

Manchester City enters the Semi Final round as almost unbackable favourites as they chase a remarkable quadruple for the season as they take on Brighton.

In the other match, Watford and Wolves will look to cap what has been successful seasons in their own right by taking the other spot in May’s Final.

Read on for our previews and predictions for both FA Cup Semi Finals.

There’s not a lot of encouraging signs for Brighton in this game, they have been drawn against a City side looking to win all four major trophies this year and will view the Seagulls as the next speedbump on their quest.

City have won all three meetings in the Premier League over the last two seasons outscoring Brighton by a combined margin of 7-1.

Brighton did win the last FA Cup meeting 4-0 but that was back in 1983 and City have changed significantly as a club since then.

As is the case with a lot of City matches lately, simply backing them to win is not a great value play, so you’ll have to look for an add on.

Both sides played in high scoring quarter finals with City winning 3-2 and Brighton winning on penalties after a 2-2 game in normal time so I’ll be taking over 3.5 goals to help the price out.

Back City to Win and Over 3.5 Goals @ $2.30

The other FA Cup Semi Final is a much tougher task to split with a good case to be made for both teams and a relatively even match up.

This Cup run is now the priority for Watford and Wolves as they chase some silverware and try to cap what has been an encouraging campaign.

Watford won the Premier League clash between these sides back in October but the edge here has to go to a Wolves side that seems to have more difference makers available.

None loom larger than Raul Jiminez and one clear chance for him could be the difference in a game like this.

Back Wolves to Win in 90 Minutes @ $2.30