Any Quarter-Finals Surprises in England?
Only eight teams are left now as we enter the business end of the English cup and there are a few surprise teams left standing. Let’s take a closer look at this weekend’s quarter-finals from England!
Preston are the biggest surprise, as it’s not common for a team from a lower division to be left at this stage. On the other hand, a number of the bigger teams have already been eliminated with last season’s winners Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham among the teams to be out of contention. This, therefore, opens the door to a number of teams who have not won a trophy for a while and would love to get their hands on some silverware. Aston Villa would be a prime example of such a team, as would Nottingham Forest, who would see winning the tournament as the highlight of what has been an excellent season so far. The one giant of English football still standing is Manchester City, the serial trophy winners of recent seasons who are having a tough time of things this time around. This cup is the last remaining option on the table for them this time, so they will surely be going all out to make it to Wembley and salvage something from their season.
Fulham vs Crystal Palace
Craven Cottage, Saturday @ 13:15
The first of the quarter-finals is a London derby with Fulham hosting Crystal Palace in the early kick-off on Saturday. The side from West London have not reached the semi-finals of the cup since 2002, but they did manage to reach the semis of the League Cup last season so they have a recent history of a good cup run. They are in good form, winning six of their last eight matches and they got the better of Manchester United, beating the holders at Old Trafford en route to this quarter-final tie. The last time they played Crystal Palace they fell to a home defeat though and they have a horrible record against Palace at home, not beating the team from South London since January 2005.
Crystal Palace have had a better recent record in this tournament than their opponents and actually reached the final in 2016. They are in good form and have been playing particularly well at home, where they have not conceded an away goal since they played Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in mid December. Therefore, they go into this match having not conceded for a total of 549 minutes, a pretty daunting record for an opponent to face. Their cup run has been kind to them though as they got the better of lower league opposition in rounds three, four and five, so this will certainly be a tougher challenge. England winger Eberechi Eze has enjoyed playing in the cup this season as three of his last four Palace goals have been scored in the cup.
Fulham have only won two of the last ten meetings between these two teams whereas Crystal Palace managed four wins.
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest
Amex Stadium, Saturday @ 18:15
Two in form teams take each other on in the second of four cup ties this weekend as Nottingham Forest head to the south coast to Brighton. The home side are unbeaten in their last seven competitive matches, winning six of those, and they are looking good for a European spot for next season. The chance of winning a trophy is also very much on the table as they will feel that, with home advantage, they have a good chance of getting one step closer to a Wembley final and the chance to lift their first ever trophy in this tournament. Having won their last four home matches as well as their previous two quarter-final ties in the tournament, manager Fabian Hurzeler will be trying to ensure that his players realise just what a good opportunity this is for the Seagulls. Joao Pedro has been involved in seven tournament goals already this season so he will be the man to watch here.
Nottingham Forest will only have to look at their most recent meeting with Brighton if they are looking for an extra confidence boost going into this match, they beat the South Coast team 7-0 in the last H2H meeting just last month. The visitors are also undefeated in their last four competitive matches, including one cup match that was decided on penalties. Chris Wood will be the man to watch for the visiting team as he has scored more goals against Brighton than any other opponent in his English club career and he is having his most productive season in front of goal.
The home side have won five of the last ten meetings with Nottingham picking up three wins.
Preston vs Aston Villa
Deepdale, Sunday @ 14:30
The cup adventure continues for Preston, the last non-PL club left in this prestigious competition. They face a difficult task though as they take on Aston Villa, who have been battling with some of Europe’s top clubs in the CL this season. Should Preston manage to get the better of Villa they would make it to the final four of the competition for the first time since making it to the final in 1964. Their season away from this competition is in danger of petering out as they are currently mid table in the second tier with little chance of challenging for promotion. Getting the better of Aston Villa would be the highlight of their season though and the club will be hoping that Deepdale will be jumping, creating a raucous atmosphere for what has the potential to be a classic cup tie.
Aston Villa are having another good season as they continue to progress in the CL and are on target for another top six finish in the league this season. Adding a piece of silverware would be the cherry on the cake for the Midlands team and they will be hoping to make it beyond the quarter-final round for the first time since 2015. The only slight concern for the Villa faithful is that they don’t have the best away record in the tournament, only winning one of their last nine away matches. They also have a record of nine draws in fifteen encounters against Preston in their history, so this is by no means a given. That being said, this version of Aston Villa is the best squad and team for many years, so fans will believe they should have more than enough to get the better of their opponents.
These two last played each other in 2018 in the Championship, when the match ended as a 1-1 draw. In fact, the last three meetings were all draws.
Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Vitality Stadium, Sunday @ 17:30
These two teams are having contrasting seasons, with Bournemouth having one of their best so far as they go into this week just five points away from the PL top four as well as this weekend’s cup quarter-final. This will be only the third time that Bournemouth have played in the quarter-finals, with their last appearance being in 2021. Andoni Iraola will be hoping that his players will not be overwhelmed by the prospect of playing against Manchester City and will be able to use home advantage to get the better of their illustrious opponents. The fact that they beat them 2-1 in November will certainly give them confidence, although that was their first victory over City in 21 attempts. A win here would be their third over a PL team on this cup run, having already got the better of Wolves and Everton.
This is Manchester City’s last chance to end the season with some silverware. They have enjoyed their cup adventures in recent years and will be hoping to go one step further than last season when they were beaten by Manchester United in the final. They are the last of the ‘giants’ of English football left in the tournament and will be hoping to take advantage of the fact that so many other big teams have been eliminated. They have reached the semi finals for the last six seasons and will be confident of getting the better of Bournemouth, despite the tie being played away from home this time around.
Manchester City have won nine of the last ten between these two, with the last meeting being the only exception.
Please note that the odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
Last updated: 02.04.25
