Aston Villa vs Cardiff City Prediction:

The first match of the fifth FA Cup round commences this Friday with Cardiff travelling across the border to Villa Park. The Bluebirds will have a tough time trying to break down Villa’s Champions League quality squad and have concerns of their own, currently taking part in the Championship relegation battle.

Key Stats:

• The home side has won this fixture in the last four meetings.
• Cardiff won their first two rounds of this competition away from home.
• Villa have beaten two Premier League sides on the way to the fifth round.
• Cardiff City have not won in any of their last five domestic games.

Aston Villa vs Cardiff City Previews, Form and Players to Watch:

Aston Villa have won just twice across their last seven domestic games, this includes their 2-1 victory at home to Spurs in the fourth round. That being said they’ve only lost once in that same time frame but have drawn four of those seven games. Other than Spurs they beat West Ham in their first game of the competition.

Cardiff are winless in four Championship games and have won three times within 90 minutes since the new year. This is the first time they are playing a top-division side in the FA Cup this season after dispatching Sheffield United and Stoke in earlier rounds.

Aston Villa Preview:

Predicted Line Up: Robin Olsen, Luca Digne, Boubacar Kamara, Ezri Konsa, Andres Garcia, Ross Barkley, Youri Tielemans, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey, Donyell Malen

Morgan Rogers has scored in both of Villa’s FA Cup games this season adding to his total of 11 goals across all competitions. His fine form has led to him receiving an England call-up and being named in Villa’s starting XI 26/27 times in the Premier League and 8/8 times in the Champions League. Against his weakest opponent in the FA Cup yet, he is likely to contribute again.

Cardiff City Preview:

Predicted Line Up: Ethan Horvath, Andy Rinomhota, Joel Bagan, Dimitris Goutas, Luey Giles, Sivert Mannsverk, Aaron Ramsey, Chris Willock, Anwar El Ghazi, Rubin Colwill, Yousef Salech

After his two goals against Stoke City in the last round Rubin Colwill will be looking to add his name to the scoresheet once again. The Welsh international has played almost every game for Cardiff this season and has five goals from advanced midfield.

Head-to-Head Stats - Aston Villa vs Cardiff City

Villa and Cardiff have met 54 times with a history dating back over 100 years, however, they have not met for seven years since they faced off in the Championship in 2018. Aston Villa have 27 wins, Cardiff City have 21 and there have been six draws. Their last five results are as follows:

• Aston Villa 1-0 Cardiff City, April 2018
• Cardiff City 3-0 Aston Villa, August 2017
• Cardiff City 1-0 Aston Villa, January 2017
• Aston Villa 3-1 Cardiff City, November 2016
• Cardiff City 0-0 Aston Villa, February 2014

Betting Tips for Aston Villa vs Cardiff City

Cardiff needs to focus on league action more than Villa do so both are likely to rotate. With Villa’s bigger and stronger squad, they should advance to the next round. For this reason, our betting experts say Full Time Aston Villa to Win & Over 2.5 Goals is the best value tip for this game. With odds at 3/5, a bet of £10 could see a potential return of up to £16.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction:

Aston Villa 3-0 Cardiff City