Anton Want/Allsport/Getty ImagesAston Villa's 1994 League Cup tie with Tranmere Rovers was one for the ages.

For Villa supporters of a certain age and generation, the semifinals of the League Cup deliver instant recall of one of the most thrilling, incident-packed and ultimately triumphant encounters in the club's more recent history. On the eve of another semifinal for Villa, this one against League Two club Bradford, it's impossible not to cast the mind back to February 1994 and the two absolute classics against Tranmere Rovers.

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Tranmere were a league below Villa and outsiders to reach Wembley, though the Merseyside club had a canny and experienced side including the likes of former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, one-time Manchester United midfielder Liam O'Brien, and John Aldridge, by then coming to the end of an illustrious career but still possessing the predatory penalty-box skills which made him one of the most prolific goalscorers of the 1980s and 1990s.

Nevertheless, Villa were hot favourites to progress. By halftime of the first leg at Tranmere's Prenton Park, fizzing with atmosphere, the Premier League team looked anything but -- down 2-0 and stunned. Aldridge made it 3-0 before Dalian Atkinson volleyed an injury time consolation which, even with Villa leaving the pitch deflated, had the hint of being crucial. "It will take a superhuman effort on our behalf to turn that around," muttered the Villa manager, Ron Atkinson, gloomily afterwards.

Superhuman, yes, plus a decent amount of good fortune. Villa swiftly cancelled out Tranmere's advantage with two first half efforts from Dean Saunders and Shaun Teale, and at 3-3 on aggregate but ahead on away goals, were in control of the tie. But Aldridge made it 4-3 overall in Rovers' favour, and it took another late Atkinson goal to take the game in to extra time (although Tranmere's O'Brien hit the post in the final seconds of normal time with a free-kick). Then penalties.

Even the shootout was a nail-biter. Villa 'keeper Mark Bosnich made two saves but the hosts fluffed both their last kicks, taking it into sudden death; Tony Daley scored for Villa, and Bosnich saved again -- making it three stops from six efforts -- to send his team through. In the final, Villa were the outsiders, but upset Manchester United to win 3-1.

There have been other semifinals on which to reflect. Villa have actually been in 14 of them, and although the FA Cup is English football's more prestigious domestic cup competition, success for the club has been scarce compared to the League Cup. The team's last semifinal outings came in 2010, a double-header against Blackburn Rovers.

The second leg of that tie had enough drama, too. The first leg saw Villa secure a low-key 1-0 win at Ewood Park, but the return was chaotic. With Blackburn 2-0 up after 26 minutes, Martin O'Neill's men raced into a 5-2 lead before being pegged back to 5-4 and eventually winning 6-4 and 7-4 on aggregate. But there have been hard luck stories too; in 2000, a dismal Villa lost 1-0 over two legs to a Leicester City side managed, back then, by O'Neill.

Now Villa stand 180 (or perhaps slightly more) minutes away from Wembley. Opponents Bradford are huge underdogs, though it won't be overlooked that not only did the Bantams put Arsenal out in the quarterfinals, they also defeated Wigan earlier in the competition. Those results, however, should actually serve to strengthen Villa resolve; no chance of Paul Lambert allowing his Premier League squad to underestimate Bradford.

Lambert has spoken this week of how League Cup success would represent the high point of his managerial career, and that there is little or no point in being in a cup competition if there is no genuine intention of attempting to win the thing. On top of these sentiments is the news that club captain Stilian Petrov, who continues his fight against acute leukemia, may well be asked to lead the team out at Wembley should Villa get there. Focus, therefore, and motivation, should not be a problem for Petrov's friends and colleagues.

Should Lambert feel that, in the hours before the game, any of his players need reminding of the pitfalls of taking the result against a lower league team for granted, he could do worse than discussing the 1994 first leg against Tranmere. A slow start for Villa almost 20 years ago nearly ruined the Wembley dream. Lambert would prefer a smoother passage to the final than the one Atkinson experienced back then.

Finally, if you are inclined to believe in omens, remember Villa's opponents back in the second round (Villa's first match of the competition) at the end of August... Tranmere Rovers.

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