OLIVER Glasner has pointed to his perfect semi-final record as a boss as he backed Crystal Palace to handle the pressure against Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.
The Eagles take on Unai Emery’s side aiming for a third appearance in the FA Cup final as they target a first-ever victory in the competition.
Glasner has been in the same situation before, twice. Glasner’s Eintracht Frankfurt beat West Ham United 3-1 on aggregate on the way to defeating Glasgow Rangers on penalties in the final of the Europa League in 2022.
The following season, Frankfurt beat Stuttgart 3-2 in the semi-finals of the German Cup before losing the decider 2-0 to RB Leipzig.
Palace go into the game with confidence following their 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday. Villa conceded a stoppage-time goal in their 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.
“Playing in the semi-final is always great,” Glasner said. “We’ve done well in the cup competitions until now, but now it’s just about the semi-final. Of course, it’s a huge game at Wembley, and we’re looking forward to it.
“It’s clear that the goal is to win the game and go to the final. It’s a big game for us, but it’s not so important what it means for me. For me as a person, if we win the game, it’s the third consecutive final I could play. Two with Frankfurt and now with Palace.
“But before we talk about the final, we have to focus on the semi-final against Aston Villa. They are in great shape. I think they’ve won eight of the last ten games, just lost against PSG away, and then at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Also, their whole squad is available.
“It’s similar for us. All of our players are available, Ben Chilwell is back and fit. It’s a game, so I don’t want to make it bigger than it is.
“It’s a football game, and we feel well prepared. We’ve got confidence, especially with the performance at the Emirates and this is how we will enter Wembley.”
Glasner added: “Of course we will enjoy it, because it’s the biggest stadium in England. It’s a very traditional stadium.
“We know now we can play in front of 40,000 Crystal Palace fans. This gives the opportunity for Crystal Palace fans to see the team playing live, and that’s why we will enjoy it.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t care if we play at Selhurst. We would try to win. If we would play at Villa Park, we would try to win.
“We played in the League Cup at Villa Park, and we could win this game there. So there’s no difference where we played, and the approach is not different. Yes, the environment, the circumstances are a little bit bigger, but I don’t feel that this has any influence on us.
“Also, when I watched the players train yesterday and today, everybody is in a good mood, everybody is looking forward to it.”
