Defender explains why Aston Villa can thrive in Wembley heat against Crystal Palace

The centre-back believes there is no point trying to play down the importance of the semi-final tie and reckons whichever team handles the occasion and 80,000-plus crowd best stands the best chance of emerging victorious.

Mings, who is among Villa’s longest-serving players having initially joined on loan from Bournemouth in January 2019, acknowledges there is now a weight of expectation on Unai Emery’s side, who reached the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League and are battling for a top-five finish in the league.

But the 32-year-old thinks those experiences show Villa are capable of rising to the occasion. 

“The more we are going into the games, like Man City, the more we are expecting to win,” he told the Official Villa Podcast. 

“We went there on Tuesday expecting to win. We will go on Saturday expecting to win.

“There is no team in the league we are looking at now and thinking: ‘If we could just get a draw’. Maybe back in the day that would have been a good result. 

“That comes with a different level of pressure and expectation but you have seen already this season how we can thrive in those situations. 

“I am really looking forward to it. I’m really looking forward to a great occasion for the fans. I am really looking forward to a battle and competing and hopefully winning.”

Villa are aiming to take another step toward ending a 29-year wait for major silverware.

But it is also a huge match for their opponents, who have never won a major trophy in their history. Nottingham Forest, who face Manchester City on Sunday in the other semi-final, are trying to end a 35-year drought.

Mings said: “It is really big and I think you can feel it. The build up to it, the interaction on social media. 

“There is no getting away from how big it is for probably three of the four clubs in the semi-final. 

“I am not doing Man City a disservice there, I just mean they have the most recent success.

“If they come away from the season having not won the title but won the FA Cup and qualified for the Champions League, they would see that as a positive. Certainly for the other teams, it would be an amazing achievement to do it for the fans.” 

Saturday’s match is Villa’s fourth meeting with Palace this season and they have failed to win any of the previous three, losing 4-1 at Selhurst Park two months ago in the Premier League. The Eagles also knocked them out of the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage in October, a match which marked Mings’ return to action after 14 months out with a serious knee injury.

“It’s a stage of the tournament where you can start thinking (about winning it),” said Mings.

“But we have such a tough opposition in Palace. It is going to require the knowledge of the game against them before, the knowledge of other games and knowing how well we can play. 

“It is also about handling the occasion as well, playing in front of 80,000-plus people at Wembley is a different occasion as well.

“Teams that settle quickly and are familiar with the situation, the atmosphere and build up to it. The quicker you can park that and focus on the game and settle into it, that is where experience probably helps. It all depends on how you handle the occasion.”