James Milner has insisted that Aston Villa are hungrier than ever to win some silverware after last week’s Carling Cup defeat as they prepare to face Reading (10/3 to beat Villa in the match betting) in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Villa missed out on the first piece of silverware of the season as they lost 2-1 against Manchester United last weekend, failing to end the club’s run of 14 years without a trophy.

However, Villa (4/1 to win the FA Cup) have a chance to erase their recent Wembley heartbreak by booking a swift return to the home of English football.

Standing in their way are Championship side Reading who have already beaten Liverpool and Burnley to reach this stage of the competition.

Brian McDermott’s men will be without Jobi McAnuff, who has been the star of Reading’s cup run so far, through suspension while Zurab Khizanishvili is cup-tied.

Villa (3/1 to win the league without the big four) will be boosted by the news that Richard Dunne will be fit to face the Royals after he missed the Republic of Ireland’s game against Brazil in midweek.

Milner believes last week’s defeat will have only served to spur on Villa in their bid to win some silverware.

“You really have to make sure you take the positives out of any situation. It is a big learning curves playing in major finals,” said the England international.

“But it has made us even more hungry – if that was possible – to get back to Wembley for the FA Cup final.”