Thousands of Aston Villa fans descend on Wembley for FA Cup final
Thousands of Aston Villa fans are travelling to London desperately hoping they will see their team get their hands on the FA Cup for the first time in more than half a century.
More than 25,000 Villa supporters will be at Wembley for the side's first FA Cup final in 15 years against Arsenal this evening.
Many are not allowing themselves to think about the prospect of winning the cup - something Villa haven't done since 1957.
They go into the final as underdogs having finished only one place above the relegation zone but the arrival of Tim Sherwood towards the end of the season saw the team's form improve and is a reason for optimism against a Gunners side who ended their Premier League campaign with a convincing 4-1 win over West Brom.
But Arsenal made hard work of beating Championship side Reading in the semi-final, as they did against Hull in the cup final last year.
And while Villa's end of season league form was a cause for concern, they comfortably saw off Liverpool in the semi-final.
Brett Callaghan, aged 27, from Kidderminster, said: "We have high hopes. We are just hoping for a good game. As long as we play to our ability we will have a chance.
"It would be incredible if we won, all the fans together. It has been a dismal few years but this would be the icing on the cake."
There has been much debate in recent years if the FA Cup matters to fans anymore - but for the legions of Villa supporters heading to the capital the answer is clear.
Mr Callaghan said: "We haven't won the cup for 58 years so it would be massive. It's a chance to make history. It has been a long time."
Many fans will see the trip to London from Birmingham as a fairly long journey but for Steve Markham, it has taken a little longer.
Originally from Great Barr, Mr Markham moved to Adelaide in Australia in 1986.
It has cost him around £3,000 to get to the game but the 50-year-old said it was a game he couldn't miss.
He said: "I flew in yesterday. I've seen Villa win the League Cup, I was in Rotterdam in 81 for the European Cup but I haven't seen us win the FA Cup. I just had to be here, it's the ultimate."
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