The tie had gone to a replay after a goalless draw at Whaddon Road and Doncaster eventually showed the gap in class with a fine home performance.
Captain Brian Stock was the hero as he grabbed two goals which won't have escaped the attention of Gareth Barry, Steve Sidwell and Stiliyan Petrov. The Villa midfield trio will face the task of coping with the talented player on his own turf on Saturday.
The Claret and Blue will be confident of gaining revenge for a 3-0 League Cup mauling at Doncaster's old home Belle Vue in 2005.
On that occasion David O'Leary managed Villa were outmuscled and outthought as goals from Michael McIndoe, Paul Heffernan and Sean Thornton saw off the Premier League outfit.
Villa will be hoping to perform better on this occasion as they aim to progress on the road to reaching a cup final for the first time since 2000.