Watch FA Cup Soccer: Livestream Aston Villa vs. Cardiff From Anywhere

61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months)

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See at ESPN

Watch the FA Cup in the US from $12 per month

ESPN Plus

See at ITV

Carries FA Cup matches for free in the UK

ITV

See at SN Now

Watch the FA Cup in Canada for CA$15 a month

Sportsnet

See at Optus

Watch the FA Cup in Australia from AU$7 a month

Optus Sport

The quarterfinals await the winner of this intriguing Premier League versus Championship matchup on Friday, as Aston Villa host Cardiff in the English FA Cup. 

Villa have had a tricky route to the fifth round, having had to see off EPL rivals West Ham and Tottenham to reach this stage. Unai Emery’s men have been wildly inconsistent all season, as typified by their 4-1 capitulation at the hands of Crystal Palace in the EPL on Tuesday. 

They face a Cardiff team in the midst of a battle to avoid relegation from the Championship, with Tuesday’s vital 1-0 victory over Hull City pushing them 6 points clear of the drop zone in 19th.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live, wherever you are in the world.

Aston Villa vs. Cardiff: When and where?

Aston Villa take on Cardiff in this FA Cup fifth-round match at Villa Park on Friday, Feb. 28. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. GMT local time in the UK, which is 3 p.m. ET or 8 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 7 a.m. AEDT in Australia early on Saturday morning.

How to watch the Aston Villa vs. Cardiff game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view EPL matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. 

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this. 

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. 

Price $13 per month, $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $150 per year)Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 35% speed loss in 2025 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands

ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months)

Livestream the Aston Villa vs. Cardiff game in the US

This match is streaming exclusively live in the US on ESPN Plus. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

ESPN’s standalone streaming service costs $12 a month or $120 for an annual subscription. With it, you’ll be able to watch all of this season’s FA Cup fixtures. Read our ESPN Plus review.

Can I livestream the Aston Villa vs. Cardiff game in the UK?

The great news for footy fans in the UK is that free-to-air broadcasters the BBC and ITV are sharing live duties for this season’s FA Cup, with this game being shown on ITV4. That means the game will be available to stream on ITVX.  

Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. GMT ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff.

ITV’s streaming online streaming service is free to viewers in the UK, with dedicated apps available for Apple and Android devices, as well as most smart TVs.

Livestream Aston Villa vs. Cardiff in Canada

Canadian soccer fans looking to watch this FA Cup fixture can watch all the action live via Sportsnet.

Sportsnet is available via most cable operators, but cord-cutters can subscribe to the network’s standalone streaming service Sportsnet Plus instead, with prices starting at CA$25 per month or CA$200 per year.

Livestream the Aston Villa vs. Cardiff game in Australia

Football fans down under can watch FA Cup matches live on streaming service Optus Sport.

With exclusive rights to stream select FA Cup and all Premier League matches live this season, as well as German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.

If you’re already an Optus network customer, you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 a month. If you’re not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25.

Quick tips for streaming the FA Cup using a VPN 

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming FA Cup matches may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location. 
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

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