Preston North End vs Aston Villa - FA Cup RECAP: Live score and updates as Marcus Rashford scores quickfire double as Premier League side take charge

Thanks for joining Mail Sport for today's game at Deepdale.

The FA Cup drama is not yet over for the afternoon as we will soon be bringing you live coverage from Bournemouth vs Man City.

See you soon!

The second semi-final will see Crystal Palace and Aston Villa go head to head.

Both semis will take place at Wembley over the weekend of April 26 and 27.

Nottingham Forest's reward for winning at Brighton yesterday will be a Wembley clash with the winner of this afternoon's game between Bournemouth and Manchester City.

The FA Cup semi-final draw is going to take place at Deepdale in just a few moments.

Former Man City and Spurs keeper Joe Hart will be drawing the balls.

Preston 0-3 Aston Villa

Just when they thought their season had hit rock bottom, now Manchester United must watch their exiled homegrown hero try to lead Aston Villa into the FA Cup Final.

Marcus Rashford was practically shoved out of the Old Trafford door when he was allowed to move on loan to Villa during the winter transfer window. Since then the 27-year-old has regained his place in the England squad and claimed his first goals since December 1 to sink Preston and send Villa into the last four. This will guarantee Unai Emery’s men at least one trip to Wembley this season.

Where many believed Rashford’s career had reached the end of the line, Emery saw a player capable of producing the moments that could turn tricky matches Villa’s way.

For large parts of games, Rashford and fellow loanee Marco Asensio can appear passengers – until they deliver the magic that has made them two of Europe’s most effective forwards at different times of their careers. Rashford has two goals and four assists for Villa, Asensio seven goals. That is how to make your mark as a loan player.

CLICK BELOW TO READ MY MATCH REPORT IN FULL.

That’s a classic Villa display – exactly as I said at half-time.

They can appear sluggish and then the ‘moments’ happen and they’re away and clear.

They’re building real momentum now and their depth in attack is scary.

The prize they really need, though, is Champions League football next season. That’s why Brighton on Wednesday is huge.

That's it! Villa join Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals.

The final place will be taken by Bournemouth or Manchester City later.

However, the semi-final draw will take place before that game. Stick around for that.

Villa are toying with Preston now and the home side and just trying to keep the score respectable.

They stayed with Villa in the first half but they have been outplayed in the second period.

Another chance missed by Watkins!

He drags a low shot wide of goal after being played in by Boubacar Kamara.

Watkins is straightaway presented with a chance to score with his first touch.

But he fails to make a touch as Lucas Digne's cross just evades him on the stretch.

There will be no hat-trick for Marcus Rashford today.

Villa's two-goal hero leaves the field to widespread applause from the away end.

His replacement for the final nine minutes is Ollie Watkins.

Meanwhile, Matty Cash has made way for Andres Garcia.

Preston make a double substitution.

Off go Emil Riis Jakobsen and Jayden Meghoma. On come Ched Evans and Liam Lindsay

With the game well and truly won, Villa boss Emery makes a triple change.

McGinn, Onana, and Malen replace Tielemans, Asensio and Rogers.

Game set and match. Aston Villa are cruising to Wembley.

This was a fine individual strike by Ramsey, who collected a pass 10 yards inside the Preston half before spinning sharply, charging forward and smashing home a shot from just inside the penalty area.

Preston's FA Cup dream is dying, while Villa fans are singing about Wembley.

Benjamin Whiteman becomes the second Preston player booked today following a foul on Morgan Rogers.

Marcus Rashford had to wait nine games to score his first Villa goal.

The wait for his second lasted all of five minutes.

Full of confidence, he waits for the keeper to commit before rolling the ball into the opposite corner. Great penalty.

It may look a little soft but it will not be overturned.

Andrew Hughes stood on the foot of Morgan Rogers. Yep, that's a pen.

Unai Emery's men have the lead and Marcus Rashford has the first goal of his Aston Villa career.

The Manchester United loanee provides a neat one-touch finish following a low cross from Lucas Digne.

It was a slick Villa attack, with Marco Asensio at the heart of it.

Villa understandably started this game as strong favourites due to their superior quality and Premier League status.

But do not discount the power of home advantage, especially for a Preston side who have not lost at Deepdale since November 6.

In their last 15 home games, Preston have won six, drawn nine and lost none, scoring 18 goals and conceding only nine.

Preston win only their second free-kick of the game and the decision is greeted by huge cheers from the home fans.

It is 45 yards from goal and Preston make a mess of a tricky set-piece routine.

But they win the ball back and keep Villa under pressure for a good minute before the visitors eventually see out the danger.

Villa kick off at the start of the second half.

Neither manager has made any subs during the interval.

Shots: Preston 2-5 Villa

On target: Preston 0-1 Villa

Fouls: Preston 8-1 Villa

Yellow cards: Preston 1-0 Villa

Corners: Preston 0-7 Villa

This might sound strange for those who don’t watch Villa regularly, but this is quite a standard performance for the season.

They’re always competent, rarely spectacular, and so often one of their players provides a moment that proves decisive.

First half of the season it was Rogers and/or Duran. Since he arrived it’s been Asensio.

Saying that, I’d expect Emery to send on Malen or Watkins fairly soon – needs someone to stretch Preston a bit more.

Not a bad first 45 minutes for the Championship outfit at all.

Villa have been the better side but Preston have had their moments too.

Villa win their seventh corner of the game.

It is taken by Rashford and his in-swinging delivery finds the head of Konzi, who is off balance and sends his effort into orbit.

Preston pressure! A cross from Robbie Brady is punched away by Martinez but Preston come again.

Mads Frokjaer loops a header back into the six-yard box for Stefan Teitur Thordarson, who can't hit the target.

The first yellow card of the game goes to Will Keane following a cynical ankle clip to halt a counter-attack led by Youri Tielemans.

That foul leaves Villa with a free-kick more than 30 yards from goal. Rashford still decides to shoot though, but his effort hits a team-mate and deflects behind for a goal kick.

Reacting to their team starting to click into gear, Villa's fans are now making the majority of the noise at Deepdale.

Meanwhile, Jacob Ramsey is looking like the best player on the pitch right now.

Villa are starting to turn the screw and take charge of this game.

Lucas Digne just fired a free-kick a yard over the crossbar.

When many of this crowd close their eyes and try to sleep tonight, they’ll have the sound of popping balloons filling their ears.

The players seem to have spent as much time destroying blue and white balloons as they have playing football.

As a colleague remarked just now, whose idea was it to use balloons on a windy day?

Villa go close to opening the scoring. Preston clear the initial danger from a corner kick but the ball is returned to Marco Asensio.

He curls in a deep cross to Ezri Konsa who glances a header just wide from close range.

A first save of the night for Preston keeper Cornell as he holds onto a Marcus Rashford free-kick.

That moment could be a valuable settler for Cornell, who only found out on Wednesday that he would be playing today.

Preston have started on the front foot here.

They are currently winning the volume battle in the stands too.

You sense that the first goal is going to be huge.

Preston have actually just had the ball in the Villa net but the whistle had been blown may before it crossed the line.

Will Keane was adjudged to have impeded Emi Martinez in his attempts to roll out the ball before Lewis Gibson lobbed a shot into the empty net.

An early penalty shout for Preston as Will Keane falls over close to Youri Tielemans.

Referee Chris Kavanagh says no. There is VAR today, which is a bit of a novelty for Preston.

But the VAR is very quick to confirm the on-field decision.

Indeed, replays suggested that Keane threw himself down.

Preston get the game underway and immediately play the ball back to stand-in keeper David Cornell to give him an early touch.

The half Preston are defending is full of balloons.

Both sets of players are out on the pitch and it is LOUD at Deepdale.

Kick-off is just moments away. FA Cup fever is alive and well in Preston.

As I try not to be submerged by the Preston tifo working its way along the Tom Finney Stand, worth noting that Stuart McCall, a key member of Paul Heckingbottom’s coaching team, scored twice for Everton in the 1989 FA Cup Final at Wembley, albeit in a losing cause against Liverpool.

How today’s North End side would love to follow that.

This famous old stadium is filling up nicely as we approach kick-off.

We are expecting an attendance close to the maximum capacity of 23,408, with Villa having sold out their away allocation of 5,637.

I saw lots of Villa fans heading up the M6 on my way here today.

This is such a great chance for Villa to lift a first major trophy since 1996, and the FA Cup for the first time since 1957.

Manchester City are the favourites, of course, but they’re not the City of two years ago, or even 12 months ago.

Unai Emery knows this and it’s reflected in his team selection.

As if this task weren’t hard enough for Preston, their first-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman joins a long list of absentees, meaning only a third appearance of the season for his deputy Dai Cornell.

If there’s something they can cling to, it’s that Villa players have been busy during the break, with lots of airmiles clocked up. Preston will hope that can make a difference if they are able to stay in the tie for long enough.

Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom speaking to the BBC:

We have had a good few days with it being a Sunday game as well. We got the players back a day early from international duty and Aston Villa will probably be the same - we've had the least disruptive preparation we can have after an international break. It is a welcome distraction from the league so we just need to enjoy the game, enjoy the occasion and there is a big prize at the end of it.

On Freddie Woodman's injury:

He has got a nasty ankle injury which he suffered in the gym during the international break so he will probably be out for the season now which is a big blow for him and a big blow for us. It's a big opportunity for David Cornell now, he has been training like a demon all season and provided unbelievable support. He is going to enjoy a good run now so it's a great opportunity for him.

On how ready his side are for today and how they can get at Villa:

If you aren't ready for a game like this then you are going to struggle. The preparation has been great and it's an occasion that we've got to enjoy. I just don't want any disappointment. If we come off the pitch and we've given everything then that is fine regardless of the result. The worst thing you can do is come off the pitch on an occasion like this and feel like you could and should have done more.

We have got a way that we like to play and it will be exactly the same but in order for us to do that and get at Villa we have to stop their threats as well. It will be different from our league fixtures and that is no disrespect to the competition that we are playing in but we have gone up a level today. Our record here has been really good and we want to make sure we can pose the same problems for Villa as we do everyone else.

We are comfortable at home but we know we've gone up a level. The challenge today is completely different. We have to be concentrated and really disciplined when we haven't got the ball but play with the same belief and aggression when we do have the ball. We can't get obsessed with stopping Villa and we have to make sure when we do get our opportunities - we are positive enough to take them.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery speaking to the BBC:

We are trying to focus on each match with the players we have and hopefully, we can get the best performances collectively.

We focus only on today because it's very important for us. Preston is always going to be difficult. The distance between the Premier League and the Championship is reducing.

We are hoping we can perform more or less like we have been doing. We must perform in the season and the matches we are facing.

After about 87 years without a game, Aston Villa return with a front four of – in no particular order – Rogers, Asensio, Ramsey, Rashford.

That to me looks like Rogers right, Ramsey left, with Asensio just off central striker Rashford.

Still no place for Donyell Malen, while you’d expect Ollie Watkins to return for the huge Premier League game at Brighton on Wednesday.

Brad Potts, Ali McCann and Jack Whatmough all miss out for Preston due to their injury issues, as does first-choice keeper Freddie Woodman.

But Jordan Storey starts, while Milutin Osmajic is on the bench.

Preston XI: Cornell; Storey, Gibson, Hughes, Brady, Whiteman, Thordarson, Meghoma, Frokjaer, Keane, Riis.

Subs: Stowell; Lindsay, Bauer, Pasiek, Tarry, Carroll, T. Mawene, Evans, Osmajic.

Ollie Watkins will start today's game as a substitute.

In his absence, Marcus Rashford will lead the Villa attack.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Tielemans, Kamara, Asensio, Rogers, Ramsey, Rashford.

Subs: Olsen, Bogarde, Maatsen, Garcia, Torres, Onana, McGinn, Malen, Watkins.

These two historic clubs have met 116 times previously, with their first game against each other coming way back in 1888.

That was an FA Cup match and Preston won it 3-1 in Birmingham.

But Villa have the superior head-to-head record overall, having beaten Preston 57 times.

Preston have recorded 38 wins over Villa in total, while there have been 21 draws.

Their six most recent meetings all came in the Championship between 2016 and 2018, while the last three were all draws (1-1, 3-3 and 1-1).

The visitors have arrived at Deepdale.

Among the players doing a pre-match pitch inspection was Ollie Watkins.

Seemingly good news for Villa fans!

Both sides began their FA Cup journey in the third round in January.

Villa have knocked out two Premier League teams by beating West Ham 2-1 and Tottenham by the same score.

Emery's men then overcame Cardiff 2-0 in round five.

But all of Villa's FA Cup games this season prior to today have been at home. How will they fare on their first road trip?

Meanwhile, Preston have also had nothing but home games in the FA Cup this term.

They have so far overcome Charlton (2-1), Wycombe (on penalties after a 0-0 draw) and Burnley (3-0).

We'll have the confirmed line-ups shortly, but both sides are dealing with fitness concerns ahead of kick-off.

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom has a number of selection headaches, with Brad Potts, Ali McCann and Jack Whatmough all doubts. Striker Milutin Osmajic could be involved despite a recent hip issue and off-field controversy, having been charged by the FA. Jordan Storey is expected to be available after a short spell on the sidelines.

Unai Emery's Villa side are in a far healthier position squad-wise. The main worry is Ollie Watkins, who picked up a knee knock during the international break.

If Watkins does miss out then Marcus Rashford could be an option to lead the line in a central position.

Good afternoon and welcome to Mail Sport's live coverage of this weekend's third FA Cup quarter-final of four.

Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have already booked their spots at Wembley but who will join them?

Will it be seven-time FA Cup winners Aston Villa? Or EFL Championship side Preston North End?

Preston are themselves two-time winners of this competition, although both their triumphs came long, long ago - in 1889 and 1937.