The battle of forgotten FA Cup hoarders: Aston Villa v Newcastle United match preview and team news

Villa meet the Magpies for the second time in three weeks, this time in the fourth round of the 2025/26 FA Cup

There’s no rest for the wicked, especially when the wicked have their eye on a first FA Cup win since 1957.

Aston Villa and the FA Cup were once synonymous but they’ve won the world’s oldest and greatest cup competition once in the last 105 years and even that was before my dad was born.

Narrowly avoiding a final against Birmingham City after a semi-final win over West Bromwich Albion, Villa beat Manchester United in an entirely controversy-free Wembley showpiece. They’ve failed to turn seven cup wins into eight in the many subsequent decades.

Their fourth round opponents in the 2025/26 competition have been waiting two years longer. Newcastle United won the 1954/55 FA Cup, playing in a ton of replays on the way to a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the final.