Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has admitted that his side will be the underdogs when they face Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Although the Villans boss concedes that the Gunners are the favourites for the trophy, he is adamant that his players have already proven they are capable of rising to big occasions.

"We know we are huge underdogs going into the game but every time we've been underdogs this year I've asked them for a big performance and we've produced it," Sky Sports News quotes Sherwood as saying.

"They ticked the boxes in all those games. They can rise to the occasion, they just need to do it one more time. It's a great opportunity for everyone involved to give the club a platform to move on."

Villa reached the final after defeating local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the quarters, before beating Liverpool 2-1 in the semis at Wembley Stadium.

Written by
Mark Langshaw