Oliver Glasner exuding calm as Crystal Palace chase FA Cup history at Wembley | OneFootball

Eagles must seize the moment against Aston Villa to move within just one more victory of a first-ever major trophy

In the days leading up to the biggest match of his Crystal Palace managerial career and the club’s most important game since the 2016 FA Cup final, Oliver Glasner smiled rather mischievously and declared: “I’m calm.” And he meant it.

The same, he added, was not necessarily true of his players, though the volume of some of the laughs being shared in the changing room at Palace’s Copers Cope Road training ground suggested this is just another week.

It isn’t. Only the sixth FA Cup semi-final in the Eagles’ 120-year history awaits at Wembley on Saturday evening - a chance to reach their third FA Cup final and to avenge two previous visits, one of which had Alan Pardew cutting shapes and both of which had Palace beaten to the punch by Manchester United.

At least in that regard, history cannot repeat itself - United having been knocked out in the fourth round by Fulham, who Palace so handsomely dispatched 3-0 last time out to earn this most rare of Wembley days out.

Unquestionably that is true of Aston Villa, who stand between them and next month’s showpiece, back at the national stadium against either Manchester City (gulp) or Nuno Espirito Santo’s magnificent Nottingham Forest side.

Unai Emery has Villa fighting for a Champions League spot, having led them to the quarter-finals this season and within a goal of forcing extra time against Paris Saint-Germain.

Saturday is not about being the disruptors - Crystal Palace themselves are the ones in the limelight now

Though Palace thrashed Villa 4-1 at Selhurst Park in the league in February - their third of three positive results against Villa already this season (two wins and one draw) - the prospect of beating them again has been made harder.

Marco Asensio? Ollie Watkins? Marcus Rashford? It is anyone’s guess as to who Emery will name in the forward areas of his starting lineup. Glasner says he “doesn’t care” who starts, since Emery is hardly likely to phone him up and just tell him.

Speaking this week, defender Maxence Lacroix welcomed coming up against Villa’s star men, declaring that to be part of a team that won Palace their first-ever piece of major silverware would be “beautiful”.

Lacroix urged his team-mates to focus less on how Villa can hurt them and more on “our qualities”, many of which were on show on Wednesday night when Palace twice came from behind against Arsenal to draw 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium and delay the formality of Liverpool’s title win a little longer. Saturday is not about being the disruptors, though. Palace themselves are the ones in the limelight now.

Glasner must have faith that his match-winners can deliver, that Eberechi Eze is at his creative best, that Daniel Munoz and Ismaila Sarr make their deadly, incisive runs, that Dean Henderson and his back three stand firm, that Jean-Philippe Mateta finds the net before darting off to catch the corner flag sweetly on the volley.

There is a sense of occasion for the Eagles, with Chris Richards, Henderson and former Palace co-chairman Stephen Browett having each contributed £500 to go towards a large banner which will be displayed proudly by the Holmesdale Fanatics fan group.

“From day number one, and this was Burnley at home, I could feel and see great support from our fans,” said Glasner, whose side will get just that at Wembley.

Match-winner: Eberechi Eze was the hero as Crystal Palace brushed aside London rivals Fulham in the quarter-finals

Action Images via Reuters

Players will get four days off after Saturday as Palace’s next match against Forest in the league isn’t until May 5. Extra incentive, if any were needed, to leave everything out on the Wembley pitch.

“If you can’t enjoy this moment and there’s no situation you can ever enjoy, look for something different,” Glasner told his players on Friday.

“Tomorrow I will get butterflies and be a little bit nervous. When you get up, it’s a little bit of tension. But when the referee starts the game, let it run, let it flow, and then it’s just football.”

A short 35-minute training session on Friday ended with players discussing which of them had played at Wembley before and which hadn’t. “Everyone is confident,” said Wharton.