Manchester City will be aiming to keep their Quadruple hopes alive as they face Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley in the first of this weekend’s FA Cup Semi Finals.
After overcoming difficult Quarter Finals away at Championship sides – Swansea and Millwall, both teams know that victory here will see them through to next month’s Final where they will face the winner of Watford’s clash with Wolves.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesSergio Aguero could feature for Manchester City after sitting out their midweek league victory over Cardiff with fatigue.
Benjamin Mendy is fit and could start in place of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who limped off on Wednesday with a thigh injury and will be missing for City’s next three games.
Fabian Delph (knock) and Claudio Bravo (Achilles) are long-term absentees.
Brighton could have attacking pair of Solly March and Jurgen Locadia available after recovering from calf injuries.
Pascal Gross is still sidelined with a hamstring injury but could return next weekend at home to Bournemouth.
Jason Steele is the Seagulls’ only lengthy omission as he battles a wrist injury.
Stat Attack
- Both sides have won one FA Cup clash apiece and have scored five goals each on aggregate from their two previous such clashes in this competition.
- Last time that Brighton met Manchester City in FA Cup, they emerged victorious in a Fourth Round tie en route to their only previous FA Cup Final in which they lost to City’s local rivals – Man Utd after a replay.
- Man City have lost one of their last four semi final appearances in all domestic cup competitions, losing 2-1 here to Arsenal after extra time in 2016-17 season.
- Brighton have won their only previous FA Cup semi final, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in 1982-93 edition of the tournament.
- Man City have scored twice in three of four meetings this century between these teams, winning on two of those occasions.
Prediction
Brighton can afford to go out and play their usual way here with little to lose but this Manchester City side is so strong that I am struggling to see how there could be a cupset here.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion