Man city |
The striker's treble saw Manuel Pellegrini's men cruise in the fifth round just days after they reached the League Cup final.
City also remain in the hunt to regain their Premier League crown and face Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League next month.
The impressive Iheanacho added to his early strike with a cool penalty before running through unchallenged in the second half to claim the match ball.
Raheem Sterling hooked in a fourth at Villa Park to ensure Sergio Aguero and David Silva were never needed from the bench.
But in 19-year-old Iheanacho, who now has eight goals this season, they have a striker who demonstrated he can be an able deputy to Aguero after he ran Villa ragged.
He left the hosts - last season's beaten finalists - to concentrate on their survival battle with Remi Garde's side 10 points from safety.
The home fans' biggest occupation of the afternoon was jeering Fabian Delph after his summer move to City but they fell silent after just four minutes.
Pantomime villain Delph had a hand in City's opener when he ignored the taunts to swing in a corner which eventually fell to Fernando.
The midfielder's six-yard header was blocked on the line by Jordan Veretout only for Iheanacho to stab in.
City could have had a second four minutes later when Iheanacho broke and found Jesus Navas but his tame shot was easy for Brad Guzan.
Shell-shocked Villa's response was muted, even if they bossed possession, with Willy Caballero never tested.
To read more go to Skysports.
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