2024/25 FA Cup: Quarter Final Preview

We are now at the business end of this season’s FA Cup competition, and here we are going to be taking a look ahead at the action to come in the Quarter Finals this weekend.

The FA Cup is the oldest domestic cup competition in the world in club football, and it is set to make its long awaited return this weekend, with it having reached the Quarter Finals stage with just eight clubs remaining, with them all looking to enhance their chances of glory with victory in their respective last eight ties.

Between the clubs that remain in this season’s FA Cup, they have won it a grand total of no less than 18 times in the histories of these clubs, and of course one of them will be adding to their trophy cabinet as the winner of this season’s competition.

Of the teams that are left, Aston Villa and Manchester City have won it the joint most times with seven each. Villa’s wins have come in 1886/87, 1894/95, 1896/97, 1904/05, 1912/13, 1919/20, and most recently in the 1956/57 season, when they were able to beat Manchester United 2 – 1 thanks to a brace from club legend Peter McParland (68’, 73’).

As for City, their seven victories have come in 1903/04, 1933/34, 1955/56, 1968/69, 2010/11, 2018/19, and most recently in the 2022/23 season, when they were able to beat their cross city rivals Manchester United 2 – 1 thanks to two goals from their German international midfielder Ilkay Gundogan (1’, 51’).

Preston North End are the only club that remains in this season’s competition who currently play their football outside of the Premier League, with North End currently in the Second Tier, the Championship. They have won the FA Cup on two occasions, doing so back in 1888/89 and in 1937/38, the latter of which saw them beat Huddersfield Town 1 – 0 thanks to a winning goal in extra time from inside forward George Mutch, who scored from the penalty spot.

The final club to remain in the 2024/25 edition of the FA Cup that has won the competition before is Nottingham Forest, who, just like Preston North End, have done this on two occasions so far. Forest won it back in 1897/98 and 1958/59, the latter of these victories seeing them able to beat Luton Town 2 – 1 thanks to goals from Roy Dwight (10’) and Tommy Wilson (14’).

As of the time of writing, Crystal Palace and their rivals Brighton have never won the FA Cup, but both will be thinking that this season’s competition is a great opportunity for them to lift the historic trophy this term. Both have been runners-up in the final on at least one occasion so far.

Starting with the Eagles, Crystal Palace has been FA Cup Final runners-up on a total of two occasions, doing so in 1989/90 and most recently in the 2015/16 season. They were defeated 1 – 0 in a replay of the final by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the 1990 FA Cup Final before being beaten by United once again in the 2016 Final, this time losing 2 – 1 at extra time even though they had taken the lead late on in the second half thanks to a goal from midfielder Jason Puncheon (78’).

Moving on to Brighton, the Seagulls have been FA Cup Finalists on just one occasion, with their only time being runners-up in this competition being when they came face to face with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United as well, but the Seagulls lost 4 – 0 in the replay at Wembley thanks to goals from Bryan Robson (25’, 44’), Norman Whiteside (30’), and Arnold Mühren, who scored his goal from the penalty spot midway through the second half (62’).

As for Fulham, they too have only been FA Cup Final Runners-Up on just one occasion, doing so when they reached the Final in the 1974/75 season. In the 1975 FA Cup Final, the Cottagers came up against fellow London Club West Ham United, with the Hammers being able to beat them 2 – 0 at Wembley thanks to two goals from Alan Taylor in the midway point of the second half, with these goals coming within just four minutes of each other (60’, 64’).

Meanwhile, Bournemouth are yet to ever reach the FA Cup Final in their more than 125 year history as of the time of writing.

Here, we are going to take a look ahead at all four of the 2024/25 FA Cup Quarter Final ties that are going to be taking place this weekend with places in the Semi-Finals at the iconic and historic Wembley Stadium all definitely at stake for all eight of the clubs who currently remain.

Fulham (Premier League) vs. Crystal Palace (Premier League) – Saturday 29^th March 2025, 12:15 KO

We begin with the tie that will see Marco Silva’s Fulham take on a Crystal Palace team that are to be led by his Austrian counterpart Oliver Glasner at the historic Craven Cottage in West London. In the Premier League, they are both in some good form, with Fulham enjoying three wins in their last five games, whilst Palace have been even better, climbing the table with no less than four victories in their last five games.

The two clubs sit in 8^th and 12^th place with 45 and 39 points respectively, Fulham in particular have an eye on potential European Qualification come the end of this season.

In the FA Cup, these two clubs have played each other just twice in this competition, with both encounters coming in the 1906/07 season, with an initial 0 – 0 draw saw a replay of what was a Second Round tie won by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles winning 1 – 0 in South London in the end.

To qualify for this round, Fulham were able to beat Manchester United 4 – 3 on penalties at Old Trafford following a 1 – 1 draw, where Bruno Fernandes (71’) and defender Calvin Bassey (45+1’) both scored for their respective clubs.

Crystal Palace were able to beat fellow London Club Millwall in the 5^th Round ahead of the Quarter Finals at Selhurst Park, with them going on to score through an own goal from former Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga (33’), as well as goals from right back Daniel Muñoz (40’) and Eddie Nketiah, formerly of Arsenal (81’). The visiting Lions side scored their only goal through defender Wes Harding (45+13’).

Brighton (Premier League) vs. Nottingham Forest (Premier League) – Saturday 29^th March 2025, 17:15 KO

We are now moving on to the fascinating tie between two clubs on the rise in the form of Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton taking on Nuno Espirito Santo’s Champions League Chasing Nottingham Forest at the Amex Stadium on the South Coast in the Quarter Finals of the 2024/25 FA Cup.

Brighton have won 4 of their last 5 games in the Premier League, whilst Forest have just two wins in their last five games, but they are currently flying high and surpassing everyone’s expectations in 3^rd place this season with no less than 54 points to their name – they are only 4 points adrift of title chasing Arsenal in second place.

As for the Seagulls, Brighton are also chasing the top four, with them currently occupying 7^th place in the current Premier League table with 47 points – just 2 adrift of Chelsea in fourth place.

In the FA Cup, these two clubs have so far never met in the entire history of the FA Cup, so this Quarter Final tie will be the inaugural meeting between these two clubs in this historic competition.

Brighton’s most recent FA Cup tie saw them beat 2024 Carabao Cup Winners Newcastle United 2 – 1 at St. James’s Park thanks to goals from Yankuba Minteh (44’) and Danny Welbeck in extra time (114’). The Magpies’ only goal came from the prolific Alexander Isak in the early stages of the first half from the penalty spot (22’).

Nottingham Forest most recently faced fellow Premier League outfit Ipswich Town, who were beaten 5 – 4 on penalties in the end at the City Ground. It was central midfielder Ryan Yates (68’) and forward George Hirst (53’) who were able to score for their respective sides (53’).

Preston North End (Championship) vs. Aston Villa (Premier League) – Sunday 30^th March 2025, 13:30 KO

The next 2024/25 FA Cup Quarter Final tie that we are going to be taking a look at involves the only remaining side not in the top flight left in the competition in the form of Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End take on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa of the Premier League at Deepdale on Sunday afternoon with a place at Wembley in the Semi-Finals at stake for these two clubs in what promises to be a fascinating game.

Starting with Preston, they most recently played Portsmouth in their most recent Championship game, which saw them win 2 – 1 thanks to goals from Ryan Porteous (76’) and Stefán Teitur Þórðarson (87’) at Deepdale. Heckingbottom’s outfit currently finds themselves sat in 14th place in the Championship table with a grand total of 47 points, 10 adrift of the promotion play-offs as of the time of writing.

As for Aston Villa, they are currently finding themselves sat in 9th place with a total of 45 points to their name as they look to return to European Football once more this season – they are also just 4 points adrift of the four UEFA Champions League Qualification spots at the moment.

In the history of the FA Cup, Preston North End and Aston Villa have met eight times in this very historic competition over the years, with both clubs having three wins each in this tie over the years to date. They most recently met in this competition at what was the Third Round stage of the competition back on 28th January 1967 at Deepdale, when a sole winning goal from David Roberts was enough to win it for Aston Villa in what was a 1 – 0 triumph in the end in Lancashire.

In the fifth round of this season’s FA Cup Competition, Preston were able to emphatically beat promotion chasing Burnley, led by Scott Parker, 3 – 0 at Deepdale thanks to goals from Robbie Brady (31’), Milutin Osmajić (44’), and Will Keane (73’).

As for Aston Villa, they were able to beat another Championship outfit, this time in the form of Cardiff City at Villa Park, where they were able to beat the Bluebirds comfortably 2 – 0 in B6 thanks to a spectacular brace from January 2025 loan signing from PSG Marco Asensio in the second half (68’, 80’).

AFC Bournemouth (Premier League) vs. Manchester City (Premier League) – Sunday 30^th March 2025, 16:30 KO

Finally, we are going to be taking a look at the third and final all-Premier League tie in the Quarter Finals stage of the 2024/25 FA Cup between Andoni Iraola’s AFC Bournemouth and a Manchester City side led by his fellow Spaniard Pep Guardiola, with the tie set to take place at the Cherries’ Vitality Stadium home on the South Coast on Sunday afternoon.

In the Premier League, Bournemouth are flying high and are looking for qualification for European Football, with them currently sat in a position as high as 10th place with a grand total of 44 points, which sees them just three points adrift of 7th place, and just 5 points adrift of the top four.

As for Manchester City, they do not find themselves in the title race this season but are most certainly still in a strong position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League once again ahead of next season. The Cityzens are currently in 5th place with a total of 48 points, just one adrift of the top four.

In the history of the FA Cup, these two clubs have never met in the history of the FA Cup, so this will be their inaugural meeting in this competition.

In the 5th Round of this season’s competition, Bournemouth faced fellow Premier League outfit Wolves, with whom they drew 1 – 1 after extra time thanks to goals from Evanilson (30’) and Matheus Cunha (60’) for their respective sides. Bournemouth were able to win 5 – 4 on penalties in the end.

Moving on to Manchester City, they were able to beat Championship outfit Plymouth Argyle, led by Miron Muslić, 3 – 1 thanks to goals from Nico O’Reilly, who scored a brace (45+1’, 76’), and Kevin De Bruyne (90’) at the Etihad Stadium, whilst it was Maksym Talovierov who scored the only goal for the visiting Argyle side that day, who actually did take the lead in the first half (38’).

All eyes will be on the resumption of the highly prestigious FA Cup this weekend, with four ties taking place in the Quarter Finals of this season’s enthralling competition. All eight clubs that are still in the competition are not only looking to secure a trip to Wembley for the Semi Finals, all of them will aiming to take another step closer to the Final and to potentially lifting this historic trophy later this year in May 2025.

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