But for football purists, this weekend in April is the date when focus turns to the FA Cup and in particular, the two FA Cup Semi Finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
On the Saturday, kicking off at 4.45pm, we have Premier League chasers and Champions League semifinalists Manchester City taking on Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United in the first semi.
Then on Sunday it is the turn of City’s main rivals, Manchester United as they take on arguably the most surprisingly impressive season of the current season in the Premier League and FA Cup; Brighton and Hove Albion.
It is these two games we are going to be giving our full focus too as we take a look at which two teams will go through to contest the FA Cup Final on June 3rd 2023.
If you want to enjoy a bet on either or both of the FA Cup Semi Finals taking place this weekend at Wembley, then bet365 Sport is a great place to start with extensive pre-match and In Play betting available across both games.
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So let’s begin our preview with a look at the teams contesting the first semi final on Saturday.
FA Cup Semi Finals
Saturday 22nd April
Manchester City v Sheffield United
Venue – Wembley Stadium
Kick Off – 4.45pm
Referee – Stuart Attwell
Assistant Referees – Lee Betts, Darren Cann
4th Official – Jarred Gillett
VAR – Tony Harrington
Assistant VAR – Sian Massey-Ellis
The Road To The Semi Final
Manchester City
3rd Round – v Chelsea (H) – W 4-0 – (Mahrez 23,85(p), Alvarez 30(p), Foden 38)
4th Round – v Arsenal (H) – W 1-0 – (Ake 64)
5th Round – v Bristol City (A) – W 3-0 – (Foden 7,74, De Bruyne 81)
Quarter Final – v Burnley (H) – W 6-0 – (Haaland 32,35,59, Alvarez 62,73, Palmer 68)
Sheffield United
3rd Round – v Millwall (A) – W 2-0 – (Jebbison 23, Bogle 35)
4th Round – v Wrexham (A) – D 3-3 – (McBurnie 2, Norwood 65, Egan 90+5)
4th Round Replay – v Wrexham (H) – W 3-1 (Ahmednhodzic 50, Sharp 90+4, Berge 90+6)
5th Round – v Tottenham Hotspur (H) – W 1-0 (Ndiaye 79)
Quarter Final – v Blackburn R (H) – W 3-2 (Gallagher og 28, McBurnie 81, Doyle 90+1)
League Performance
Manchester City (Premier League)
Position – 2nd
Played – 30
Won – 22
Drew – 4
Lost – 4
Home Record – 13-1-1 – 40 points from 15 games
Away Record – 9-3-3 – 30 points from 15 games
Leading Goalscorer – Erling Haaland – 32 goals
Most Assists – Kevin De Bruyne – 15 assists
Ever Presents In The League – Ederson – 30 appearances
Sheffield United (Championship)
Position – 2nd
Played – 42
Won – 25
Drew – 7
Lost – 10
Home Record – 14-3-4 – 45 points from 21 games.
Away Record – 11-4-6 – 37 points from 21 games.
Leading Goalscorer – Iliman Ndiaye – 13 goals
Most Assists – Iliman Ndiaye – 8 assists
Ever Presents In The League – Iliman Ndiaye & Oliver Norwood – 42 appearances
Historical Record
Games Played – 125
Manchester City Wins – 53
Sheffield United Wins – 38
Draws – 34
Most Recent Result – 30th January 2021 – Manchester City 1-0 Sheffield United
Trends
In four FA Cup ties, Sheffield United have won all four, although two matches were drawn and required replays for the Blades to win.
Manchester City have lost three times in the FA Cup Semi Finals in the past three years, they have also reached five consecutive FA Cup Semi Finals.
City have won all the last four between the two teams without conceding a goal. Three of those games resulting in a 1-0 win for City.
Both teams have scored in just two of the last 12 games between the two teams.
Over 2.5 Goals has been achieved in just 2 of the last 10 games between the teams.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 15 games in all competitions.
Manchester City Team News & Predicted XI
Pep Guardiola will likely rest a number of players that played in the midweek Champions League game away to Bayern Munich. That may allow players that started on the bench in midweek such as Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker and Stefan Ortega to play.
Predicted Manchester City Team (4-3-3) – GK – Ortega, DR – Walker, DL – Lewis, DC – Laporte, DC – Dias, MC – Stones, MC – Phillips, MC – De Bruyne, AMR – Mahrez, AML – Foden, AC – Haaland
Sheffield United Team News & Predicted XI
James McAtee and Tommy Doyle are not allowed to play against their parent club in the semifinal due to competition rules, so Paul Heckingbottom will need to make a few tweaks to his team as a result. Long term injured trio Jack O’Connell, Enda Stevens and Rhian Brewster are also out.
Predicted Sheffield United Team – (3-5-1-1) – GK – Foderingham, DC – Ahmedhodzic, DC – Egan, DC – Robinson, DMR – Baldock, DML – Lowe, MC – Berge, MC, Norwood, AMC – Ndiaye, AMC – Fleck, AC – McBurnie
Top Game Tips
Full Time Result – Manchester City to win – 1/7
Correct Score – Manchester City 4-0 Sheffield United – 8/1
Anytime Goalscorer – Phil Foden (Man City) – 7/4
Sunday 23rd April
Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United
Venue – Wembley Stadium
Kick Off – 4.30pm
Referee – Craig Pawson
Assistant Referees – Ian Hussin, Marc Perry
4th Official – Robert Jones
VAR – Michael Oliver
Assistant VAR – Matthew Wilkes
The Road To The Semi Final
Brighton & Hove Albion
3rd Round – v Middlesbrough (A) – W 5-1 – (Gross 8, Lallana 29, Mac Allister 58.80, Undav 88)
4th Round – v Liverpool (H) – W 2-1 – (Dunk 39, Mitoma 90+2)
5th Round – v Stoke City (A) – W 1-0 – (Ferguson 30)
Quarter Final – v Grimsby T (H) W 5-0 – (Undav 6, Ferguson 51,70, March 82, Mitoma 90)
Manchester United
3rd Round – v Everton (H) – W 3-1 – (Anthony 4, Coady og 52, Rashford 90+7(p))
4th Round – v Reading (H) – W 3-1 – (Casemiro 54,58, Fred 66)
5th Round – v West Ham (H) – W 3-1 – (Aguerd og 77, Garnacho 90, Fred 90+5)
Quarter Final – v Fulham (H) – W 3-1 – (Fernandez 75(p), 90+6, Sabitzer 77)
League Performance
Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League)
Position – 7th
Played – 29
Won – 14
Drew – 7
Lost – 8
Home Record – 7-3-4 – 24 points from 14 games
Away Record – 7-4-4 – 25 points from 15 games
Leading Goalscorer – Alexis Mac Allister – 8 goals
Most Assists – Solly March – 7 assists
Ever Presents In The League – Solly March, Lewis Dunk, Pascal Gross – 29 appearances
Manchester United (Premier League)
Position – 3rd
Played – 30
Won – 18
Drew – 5
Lost – 7
Home Record – 11-3-1 – 36 points from 15 games
Away Record – 7-2-6 – 23 points from 15 games
Leading Goalscorer – Marcus Rashford – 15 goals
Most Assists – Christian Eriksen – 7 assists
Ever Presents In The League – David de Gea – 30 appearances
Historical Record
Games Played – 29
Brighton & Hove Albion Wins – 5
Manchester United Wins – 19
Draws – 5
Most Recent Result – 7th August 2022 – Manchester Utd 1-2 Brighton & HA
Trends
Brighton have won the last two matches between the teams, winning 4-0 in May 2022 and 2-1 at Old Trafford in August 2022.
Prior to that Manchester United had won all the last 7 between the two teams.
The last draw between the two teams was in September 1992 (a 1-1 draw in the League Cup)
The teams have met seven times in the FA Cup, with Manchester United winning five of those games, including a 1983 FA Cup Final replay, and the other two games (including the 1983 FA Cup Final) were draws.
There has only been one 0-0 draw between these two teams and that came back in March 1980.
Both teams have scored in six of the last ten matches between the two teams.
There has been over 2.5 goals in nine of the last ten matches between the two teams.
Man Utd have won all their FA Cup games by a 3-1 scoreline this season, all at home.
Brighton & Hove Albion Team News & Predicted XI
Evan Ferguson and Joel Veltman are both out for a couple of weeks and will likely miss the semi final, joining the likes of Adam Lallana, Levi Colwill, Jeremy Sarmiento, Enock Mwepu and Tariq Lamptey on the sidelines.
Predicted Brighton & Hove Albion Team (4-3-3) – GK – Sanchez, – DR – Gross, DL – Estupinan, DC – Dunk, DC – Webster, MC – Caicedo, MC – MacAllister, AMR – March, AML – Mitoma, AMC – Undav, AC – Welbeck
Manchester United Team News & Predicted XI
Marcus Rashford could be back for United for the semi final, but Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek, Raphael Varane and Alejandro Garnacho are injured while in-form Scott McTominay is a real doubt for the semi final with an unspecified knock.
Predicted Manchester United Team – (4-2-3-1) – GK – de Gea, DR – Dalot, DL – Shaw, DC – Lindelof, DC – Maguire, MC – Fred, MC – Casemiro, AMC – Fernandes, AML – Sancho, AMR – Anthony, AC – Rashford
Top Game Tips
Full Time Result – Draw – 5/2
Correct Score – Brighton 1-1 Mancheser United – 11/2
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