Raheem Sterling tells Liverpool: 'Forget Wembley and beat Newcastle United'

Raheem Sterling has told his Liverpool teammates to forget about Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Aston Villa and focus on beating Newcastle United tonight.

Brendan Rodgers's side host the Magpies knowing that victory would take them four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City in the race for the Champions League.

With a trip to Wembley on the horizon, Sterling feels that the Reds could have one eye on Villa, but the youngster is hopeful that his teammates can put their 'excitement' to one side for the moment.

"The semi-finals of the FA Cup don't come around too often for many players. It will be a dream come true for me, especially being from Wembley as well and growing up there," he told the club's official website.

"Everyone is really excited to be playing at Wembley; the atmosphere in the camp is really good. Hopefully we can go again against Newcastle, get the result and be fired up for next Sunday's game. It would be a real dream come true. The club has been in and around the trophies in the last few years, we missed out on the league last year.

"We've just got to keep focused and block out the game at Wembley. It's credit to ourselves for getting there, but now we've got to block it, go into the next game against Newcastle and be 100%."

It has been three years since Liverpool won a trophy and nine since they last won the FA Cup, with Rafael Benitez's side defeating West Ham United on penalties in 2006.