Aston Villa prepare to host Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the EFL Cup at Villa Park,, with a place in the Quarter-Finals awaiting the victor.
Unai Emery's side beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 to make it through to the round of 16. Emi Buendia and Jhon Duran found the scoresheet to advance the Villans through the third round.
The Eagles ran out 4-0 winners over Norwich in round two of the cup. Palace would then defeat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 with goals from Eddie Nketiah and former R’s man Ebere Eze.
The last time these two sides faced was on the final day of the 2023/24 season at Selhurst Park. The Eagles won 5-0 that day with a double from Eze and a hattrick from Jean-Philippe Mateta, but the circumstances will be very different on Wednesday night.
Villa come into the tie in incredible form, sitting fourth in the Premier League having won five, drawn three and lost once.
The Villans also sit first in the Champions League table, having won their first three games scoring six and conceding zero.
On the weekend Villa conceded a last minute equaliser to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth, and Emery will hope his side can bounce back.
In the Premier League this season Crystal Palace two points adrift of the drop zone after earning their first league win of the season over Tottenham on Sunday. Palace have drawn three times and lost five in their other league matches this season.
The last time Villa made the Quarter-Finals was in 2019/20 as they finished runners up to Man City, whilst the Eagles will hope to reach the Quarter-Finals of this competition for the first time since 2011/12.
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Team News
Aston Villa
Villa appear to have no fresh fitness concerns, and welcome back several long term absentees.
Tyrone Mings has returned to the matchday squad in the last week after recovering from an ACL injury. Boubacar Kamara has also returned to the first team after after an ACL injury of his own.
Crystal Palace
Defenders Chadi Riad and Chris Richards both remain injured with neither expected to return to the side before the international break.
Rob Holding is also absent from the first team and has been playing with the Under 21s.
Cheick Doucoure is nearing a return after training last week however, he will not be available for this EFL Cup tie with the match coming too soon.
The young Brazilian Matheus Franca is not expected to feature again in 2024 after suffering a groin injury during his rehabilitation from a fractured rib.
Jefferson Lerma is also expected to miss out after being forced off injured in the 1-0 victory over Spurs.
Adam Wharton has been playing on painkillers so far this, after suffering from a groin injury. The midfielder was rested against Nottingham Forest but returned to the side against Tottenham. It is likely that Wharton will be rested again in the cup with an important tie against Wolves on Saturday.
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Likely Line-ups
Aston Villa
Olsen; Cash, Carlos, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen; Barkley, Tielemans; Bailey, Buendia, Ramsey; Duran
Crystal Palace
Henderson; Munoz, Clyne, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell; Kamada, Hughes; Nketiah, Eze; Mateta
Key Players
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
The Colombian has been crucial to Villa at times this season coming off the bench as a super sub to score numerous late winners and equalisers.
The striker has netted four times in nine matches this season and has utilised his elite ball striking and directness to cause countless problems.
Duran has exceptional strength and sprint speed which he is able to use to beat his man in the final third.
Crystal Palace – Maxence Lacroix
The summer signing put in a Man of the Match performance on the weekend in Palace’s first Premier League win.
The centre half made six recoveries, three clearances and two interceptions as he put in a stellar performance against Tottenham.
This season he has made 4.5 accurate long balls per 90, and his range of passing has allowed Palace to attack in transition, with his line breaking passes often an initiator to a Palace attack.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The game will be played at Aston Villa’s stadium Villa Park.
What time is kick-off?
Kick off is at 19:45 GMT on Wednesday 30th October 2024.
How can I watch?
The game has been selected to be televised on Sky Sports +. Live updates will also be available on the Sky Sports website.
