Aston Villa and Crystal Palace meet under the arch at Wembley on Saturday for a place in the FA Cup final.
The first two meetings between the clubs both came in the oldest cup competition in world football, and more links between the teams have been forged through the years.
Here, we take a look at five players who tie Palace and Villa together…
Christian Benteke
The big Belgian was an instant hit at Villa Park, plundering 23 goals in his first season after joining from Genk in August 2012.
Nineteen league goals in his maiden campaign as a Villan is a club record in the Premier League era that he shares with Ollie Watkins.
Benteke continued to produce the goods over the next two seasons, taking his total to 49 in 101 games for the club before he left to join Liverpool.
Albeit less prolific than he had been in claret and blue, a six-year spell at Crystal Palace after his Anfield exit endeared him to the fans at Selhurst Park.
Ray Houghton
A new era of football was dawning when Houghton signed for Villa ahead of the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992/93.
His all-action style made him a big hit with the club’s fans, and he helped Ron Atkinson’s side finish second following a title charge.
Houghton racked up the appearances as a Villan, making 121 in total, but he was left on the bench for the 1994 League Cup win.
European football and a famous night against Inter Milan followed in his final season before he left to join Palace with seven games left of the campaign, and he was unable to save the Eagles from relegation.
After his initial disappointment, the midfielder helped deliver Palace back to the Premier League in 1997.
Mile Jedinak
In an age when onlookers were bemoaning a lack of leaders in the game, Jedinak stood out.
A fierce competitor, the Australian led by example and captained Palace to promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2013.
Three campaigns patrolling the middle of the park in the Premier League and an FA Cup final followed before Jedinak dropped down a division to aid Villa’s quest to escape the second tier.
He eventually achieved that mission, with his successful penalty in the play-off semi-final shootout win against West Bromwich Albion the last touch of a ball in his 18-year professional career.
Yannick Bolasie
Type ‘Yannick Bolasie skills’ into YouTube and you’ll bring up a host of compilations marvelling at the winger’s playing style.
Having moved around in the early years of his career, including a spell in Malta, he found a home at Selhurst Park when he joined in August 2012.
Working in tandem with Wilfried Zaha, Bolasie traumatised defences in the Championship and Premier League before later linking up with Villa on a season-long loan in 2018.
Some sublime skills in 21 appearances, resulting in two goals and four assists, was the sum of his Villa career.
Bolasie is still strutting his stuff, enjoying his football in Brazil with Cruzeiro.
Gábor Király
When you think of goalkeepers in tracksuit bottoms, there’s only one man that springs to mind.
Király’s baggy grey trousers helped make him a cult hero at Crystal Palace and beyond when he arrived in English football in 2004, joining the Eagles from Hertha Berlin.
Known as ‘Pyjama Man’, the goalkeeper played regularly for Palace before answering Villa’s call in December 2006 when injuries to Thomas Sørensen and Stuart Taylor left the club short between the sticks.
He made six appearances – experiencing five defeats and a draw – during his loan spell, including an FA Cup third-round loss to Manchester United, when Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored a stoppage-time winner.
More recently, in 2016, he became the oldest player to feature at a European Championships at the age of 40, eventually calling time on his international career with 108 caps to his name for Hungary.
