Oliver Glasner has spoken about the challenges posed by Aston Villa ahead of an FA Cup semi-final showdown with his Crystal Palace side.

The Wembley clash is the fourth meeting this season alone between Palace and Villa, with the Eagles having come out on top twice previously against Unai Emery’s team this season, including a win in the League Cup.

Palace also claimed a 4-1 victory when the teams last locked horns in the Premier League, in front of a raucous Selhurst Park only two months ago.

Villa have been on a strong run of form since and have regularly rotated their team while maintaining results.

However, speaking in the embargoed section of his pre-match press conference earlier on, Glasner insisted he was not fixating on which personnel the opposition choose to start with.

“Firstly, he [Unai Emery] won’t call me," explained Glasner. "And tell me who he wants to play, and the second thing is the structure is the same. If it's [Marcus] Rashford or Ollie Watkins. the profile is pretty much the same. Great pace, always attacking the spaces in-behind the defence.

“We will rely on what is the fourth game we are playing against Villa this year. What we did really well in the first three games and also in the home game, we knew and there were two very good decisions for us in the home win. 4-1, but with two disallowed goals and I think it was just one inch offside, and this is the fine margins.

“We are well prepared, they will be well prepared and I'm really sure it will be a great game at Wembley.”

Palace’s cup run has been built on an excellent defensive record, conceding just one goal in the four ties to reach this stage.

Even against a strong attacking side, Glasner says balance will be needed, with Palace producing their best at both ends of the pitch.

“It’s (defending well) always crucial, with respect to every opponent," he added. "Whether you play at Doncaster or you play Manchester City.

“But I don't just want to talk about defending, because if you want to win the game, you also have to score. We want to win the game within 90 minutes.

“If it takes 120 minutes, we will take it in 120. If we need the penalties, we will try to win the penalties. But the goal is to win it within 90 minutes, and therefore we need to score.

“At the Emirates, most of the that game, we were defending in a very compact shape. But when we have the opportunity to go forward – then let's go forward. And this is how we all want to play tomorrow.”