It’s Premier League vs Championship in the fifth round of the FA Cup as Europe chasing Aston Villa face Championship relegation fighters Cardiff City in a game that could prove key to both sides’ seasons.
FA Cup
Our 3 predictions for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City
- 1st prediction: Aston Villa to win
- 2nd prediction: Over 2.5 goals in the match
- 3rd prediction: Both teams to score
1st prediction for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City: Aston Villa to win – 53/100
On paper, this is a pretty easy game to predict, but it likely won’t be that straight forward. First of all, the FA Cup is known for surprises and giant-killings, and with the situations both sides are in it’s impossible to count Cardiff out. Villa are still in three competitions with plenty riding on them, while Cardiff only have survival and the cup to think about. It’s unlikely, though, that Unai Emery will rotate too much as he will see this competition as a realistic chance of silverware, especially with Wembley only two wins away. They have some world-class players and it only takes one of them to click to blow a team away.
2nd prediction for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City: Over 2.5 goals in the game – 11/25
There’s going to be goals in this one. Both sides are in inconsistent form and are prone to conceding a few at a time, despite their very different positions in their respective leagues and the football pyramid as a whole. Furthermore, both sides come into this one with their first-choice keepers doubtful; Cardiff’s Jak Alnwick is said to be out for the season with a torn hamstring while Villa’s Emi Martinez was substituted at half-time in midweek. Villa fans will be hoping the World Cup winner is fit with his replacement Robin Olsen conceding three in one half in their 4-1 loss at Crystal Palace. Aside from the goalkeeping issue, there’s plenty more indicating this will be a high scorer. Cardiff have the second0worst defence in the Championship and will be the underdogs at Villa Park against a team with an array of attacking talent, so if they aren’t at it they could concede a few. Villa aren’t exactly watertight either, and are prone to the odd defensive calamity. That being said, they are strong favourites here, and probably won’t have to do much defending.
3rd prediction for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City: Both teams to score – 23/20
This prediction is pretty much an extension of the last one. There’s going to be plenty of goals here and it’s likely both sides will get at least one, owing to a number of factors. There’s the goalkeeping issue as mentioned previously, though if Emi Martinez is passed fit Villa have much more of a chance of a clean sheet than if Robin Olsen plays. There’s also the fact that this is a cup knockout match with both teams needing a win and no point in sitting back; teams tend to attack much more in the cup. Then there’s the schedules. Fatigue may kick in for both sides with Villa still in the Champions League and European qualification fights while Cardiff fight for their lives in the Championship – this may be a fixture too far for both sides with tiredness leading to errors. Were that to happen, though, you’d fancy a Villa victory with their quality shining through but the cup is full of surprises and Cardiff will approach this game confident of causing an upset.
Best odds for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City
| Bookmaker | Aston Villa | Cardiff City |
| MyriadPlay | 53/100 | 17/2 |
| Gentleman Jim | 1/5 | 14/1 |
| Betarno | 1/5 | 14/1 |
Full preview of the game: last results and head to head
This is a huge game pitting together two teams having very different seasons and having different things to play for, but meeting for the magic of the FA Cup.
Aston Villa have been going well this season, though their league form has suffered for their success in the Champions League – they do still have a good chance of European qualification. Their recent form has been hit and miss with two wins and a loss in their last five, though that loss was a 4-1 thrashing in their last match at Crystal Palace. They beat fellow Premier League side West Ham to reach the fifth round.
Cardiff, on the other hand, have been poor. They’re winless in their last five in the league but with only two losses, one of which was a 7-0 drubbing by Leeds United. Their last fixture was a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle. They beat Stoke City to reach this stage of the competition.
In terms of this fixture’s history, it’s actually pretty mixed. Of 38 games, Villa have 18 wins to Cardiff’s 16, and they have one win apiece from the last two competitive fixtures. That being said, they haven’t met since the 2017/18 season when both were in the Championship, and plenty has changed since then.
Confrontation
28/02/2025
FA Cup FA Cup
Aston Villa
Cardiff City
2
0
30/11/2022
Club Friendlies Club Friendlies
Cardiff City
Aston Villa
3
1
Last Results - Aston Villa 
16/07/2025
Club Friendlies Club Friendlies
Walsall
Aston Villa
1
0
L
25/05/2025
Premier League Premier League
Manchester United
Aston Villa
2
0
L
16/05/2025
Premier League Premier League
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
2
0
W
10/05/2025
Premier League Premier League
AFC Bournemouth
Aston Villa
0
1
W
03/05/2025
Premier League Premier League
Aston Villa
Fulham
1
0
W
Last Results - Cardiff
12/07/2025
Club Friendlies Club Friendlies
Cardiff
Southend
3
0
W
09/07/2025
Club Friendlies Club Friendlies
Cardiff
Johor DT
2
2
D
03/05/2025
Championship Championship
Norwich City
Cardiff City
4
2
L
26/04/2025
Championship Championship
Cardiff City
West Bromwich Albion
0
0
D
21/04/2025
Championship Championship
Cardiff City
Oxford United
1
1
D
Where to watch Aston Villa vs Cardiff City
This is a huge game in a pivotal round of the FA Cup; win here and your team will be thinking of Wembley later in the season. Both sides have had fascinating seasons which makes for an interesting match – as such the game has been selected for TV coverage. Here’s where you can watch it.
- Location: Villa Park, Birmingham, UK, B6 6HE
- Channel: ITV One
- Date and time: 8pm UK Time, Friday 26th February 2025
Probable lineups for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City
This is an interesting game in terms of team selection. Villa are still competing on three fronts so may rotate here, but they will still put out a strong side as this represents their best chance of silverware. Cardiff will have one eye on their survival fight when picking their team, though they will still take the competition seriously having got this far. Here’s how we think they will line up:
Aston Villa
Line up: R Olsen, A Garcia, A Disasi, T Mings, I Maatsen, L Bogarde, J McGinn, J Ramsey, M Rogers, L Bailey, O Watkins
Injuries/suspensions: E Martinez, P Torres, K Hause, A Onana, B Kamara, R Barkley (all injured)
Coach: Unai Emery
Cardiff City
Line up: E Horvath, A Rinhomota, D Goutas, J Daland, P Ng, S Mannsverk, A Robertson, J Ralls, A El Ghazi, C O’Dowda, Y Salech
Injuries/suspensions: A Ramsey, R Simic (injured)
Coach: Omer Riza
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