Aston Villa winger Marcus Albrighton has urged his teammates to perform well and beat Manchester City to move a step closer to the FA Cup final.
Aston Villa will take on Roberto Mancini's expensive squad tonight as they bid to continue their good run of form that has seen them only lose 2 of their last 11 matches. The winners of this clash will get a home tie against Reading in the sixth round.
Aston Villa's closest rival, Birmingham have already earned some fans with their Carling Cup triumph last Sunday. Nonetheless, Marcus Albrighton insists that Villa could have a chance to go all the way in the FA Cup and Birmingham's achievement could be used as an inspiration for them.
"I've not really thought about whether Blues being at a final will inspire us to do the same," said Albrighton.
"It would be great to get to a cup final - no matter whether Blues have been there or not.
"We've got to beat Manchester City first and, if we do that, we've got a hard tie.
"It's going to be hard to get there but we will do our best."
One thing Villa would have to be worried of is City's attacking abilities. Villa were destroyed by Manchester City in December with a scoreline of 4-0. However, Albrighton insists that the team has very much improved since then and a better performances can be expected from them.
"We were very poor up at City," he continued. "Every player in a Villa shirt didn't perform that day.
"But we've beaten them since at our place so we know we are capable of it.
"We will go there and look to pick something up. We had a great afternoon against Blackburn and we will go there in high spirits and full of confidence."
Aston Villa's closest rival, Birmingham have already earned some fans with their Carling Cup triumph last Sunday. Nonetheless, Marcus Albrighton insists that Villa could have a chance to go all the way in the FA Cup and Birmingham's achievement could be used as an inspiration for them.
"I've not really thought about whether Blues being at a final will inspire us to do the same," said Albrighton.
"It would be great to get to a cup final - no matter whether Blues have been there or not.
"We've got to beat Manchester City first and, if we do that, we've got a hard tie.
"It's going to be hard to get there but we will do our best."
One thing Villa would have to be worried of is City's attacking abilities. Villa were destroyed by Manchester City in December with a scoreline of 4-0. However, Albrighton insists that the team has very much improved since then and a better performances can be expected from them.
"We were very poor up at City," he continued. "Every player in a Villa shirt didn't perform that day.
"But we've beaten them since at our place so we know we are capable of it.
"We will go there and look to pick something up. We had a great afternoon against Blackburn and we will go there in high spirits and full of confidence."
