Preston North End vs Aston Villa prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
Preston North End will hope to make life uncomfortable for Aston Villa when they welcome them to Deepdale in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
This famous old fixture planted its roots in the late 1800s when Football League 100 Legends inductee Archie Hunter netted a consolation goal as Villa lost 3-1.
The ‘Old Warhorse’ was said to have never committed a foul in anger, yet given the state of football as recently as the 1980s, one can only assume you used to be able to burn players at the stake and get away with a warning.
There will be tackles a plenty flying in on Sunday as North End look for a way to compete with their Premier League visitors, who you’d fancy to make light work of their day out.
Still, football is never quite that simple, and if we overlook Villa’s 5-0 win the last time they met in the cup and focus on an exclusive period from 1968 through 1970, we can see Preston are unbeaten in five.
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom, or ‘Hecky’, or ‘Eckee’ if you’re really Yorkshire, will need to draw up quite the plan “wi’ ball, wi’out ball”.
Barnsley’s most cunning linguist will meet his match in Unai Emery on Sunday, and we suspect Emery will get the better of him in a tactical sense, too.
Preston vs Aston Villa prediction:
Wi’ ball or wi’out ball, Villa should find a way to win this match. There’s little value in backing them to do so, meaning we’ll need to be creative to find a good price in the market.
The handicap is an obvious starting price and we can see that Villa are available at 5/4 to get the better of Preston by two or more goals.
All four Premier League vs Championship ties in the previous round resulted in victory by a two-goal margin, yet it’s a different story when the roles are reversed and Prem sides take to the road.
Round four witnessed Fulham, Man City and Newcastle win by a one-goal margin away to League One opposition, while Liverpool bowed out at Plymouth, and Nottingham Forest drew 2-2 at Exeter.
Still, the risk of upsets dramatically decreases at this stage of the competition. Villa will field a full-strength side and should be able to find the net more than once.
Preston team news
Heckingbottom will opt for a 5-2-1-2 on Sunday to help pack the midfield and limit Villa’s space in and around the 18-yard box.
The Lilywhites are a little short on bodies with Jack Whatmough, Ryan Porteous, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Allie McCann, Brad Potts, Ryan Ledson and Sam Greenwood unavailable.
Striker Milutin Osmajic is also doubtful. He scored in the previous round against Burnley after an incident of alleged racism against the Clarets, which he has since been charged for, in the prior league meeting.
Robbie Brady will continue operating on the left of defence as he did for Ireland during the international break.
Will Keane, brother of Everton’s Michael Keane, and Emil Riis will form a two-man attack ahead of Mads Frokjaer-Jensen in the 10 role.
Preston expected line-up
Woodman – Storey, Gibson, Lindsay, Bauer, Brady – Whiteman, Frokjaer-Jensen – Thordarson – Keane, Riis
Aston Villa team news
Axel Disasi is cup-tied for the visitors, who will also be without the services of midfielder Ross Barkley.
Ollie Watkins suffered a minor knock against Club Brugge before the international break, though he’s expected to feature on Sunday.
It’s business as usual at the back with Emi Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezra Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen.
There’s a decision to be made in midfield with John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara all available, but the latter was sat out in the previous round.
Marco Asensio is sure to start after scoring seven goals in six matches before the break.
Aston Villa expected line-up
Martinez – Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen – McGinn, Tielemans – Asensio, Rogers, Rashford – Watkins
Preston vs Aston Villa: How to watch and listen
Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final between Preston North End and Aston Villa will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. There’s also live radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports.
Preston vs Aston Villa stats:
– The first FA Cup meeting between these sides saw Preston beat Villa 3-1 in 1888, a campaign the original Invincibles began by beating Hyde FC 26-0.
– Overall, each side has won three FA Cup clashes and drawn twice.
– Bill Shankly was part of the Preston side that lifted North End’s last FA Cup in 1937.
– Aston Villa have won the FA Cup seven times but haven’t lifted a major trophy since 1996.
– Preston beat Lancashire rivals Burnley 3-0 in the previous round, while Villa beat Cardiff City 2-0 at Villa Park.
Paul Heckingbottom (Preston) quotes
On the quarter-final
“Everyone is really on board with this. We had Fulham in the League Cup and Arsenal, and now we’re welcoming Aston Villa. These cup games are for us to enjoy.
“Obviously, we have to go all out to try and win the game. They’re here for us to relish amid the slog of the Championship season.
“Our recent history hasn’t been at the top end of English football, but in the past, the club very much was.
“We are one game away from Wembley. If we win away against Derby on Wednesday night, we get three points, but if we manage to overturn Villa, it’s a totally different story.
“A trip to Wembley and an FA Cup semi-final doesn’t come around often. This week has taken care of itself — everyone is looking forward to it and excited for it.”
On Aston Villa
“We want to be on the front foot and put pressure on Villa. Depending on which team Unai picks, especially at the top of the pitch, it will determine how they build.
“We are guessing to some extent — a lot of the preparation will be focused on ourselves.
“We’ve also suffered a lot, with four players ineligible due to either previous cup games or suspensions. We also have a few injuries at the moment. We’ll see the XI that Villa put out and then we’ll be prepared.
“One of the reasons Kaine Kesler can’t play is because his parent club is Aston Villa. It’s a little bittersweet for him — a bit of a sickener, really.
“Any XI Villa puts out at the minute is unbelievably strong. I think it reflects how Villa has strengthened with every window.
“They recruited extremely well in January, and I don’t see them fielding a weak team against Preston.
“They will see this as being just a couple of games away from their first piece of silverware in a long time — and Unai’s first with the club.”
Unai Emery (Aston Villa) quotes
On Villa strength:
“Two years ago, we finished the season strong. We drew against Liverpool and won against Brighton at home. Last year, we finished the season very tired, there wasn’t enough energy, and we lost the last match against Crystal Palace away.
“This year, my idea and how we are now planning the rest of the season is to try to finish with full energy.”
On consistency:
“The season is more or less the consistency we can have, but each moment is different.
“And now, we are in another moment, we have individually and collectively to be very demanding because we were under our expectation, our ambition to get the objective we want for the season.
“Of course, we conceded a lot of goals in the season, we are being sometimes consistent, but not enough.
“For example, we didn’t lose a lot of matches at home, only one in the Premier League, but we draw a lot of matches.
“This means we are consistent, yes, but not enough, because we are drawing more matches than we needed.”
Preston vs Aston Villa referee stats:
Chris Kavanagh will take charge of Preston North End for the first time since 2022, when the Lilywhites were beaten 4-2 by visitors Blackpool.
The Manchester-based referee is part of the Premier League’s card happy crew, dishing out an average of 5.11 through 19 matches.
He’s also produced four red cards this season, the most recent of which was shown to Brentford’s Christian Norgaard.
Interestingly, Kavanagh has shown more red cards to Aston Villa players (3) than any other club.
He was in charge of Norway’s 4-2 win against Israel during the international break, having officiated Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on March 16.