FA Cup
FA Cup semi-final preview
Three of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ will take to the hallowed Wembley turf across Saturday and Sunday this weekend in their respective attempts to reach the final of the FA Cup next month.
We preview both fixtures below.
Manchester City v Chelsea – Saturday 5.15pm
Manchester City will barely have time to reflect on their crushing Champions League quarter-final defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday when they take on Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea in the late kick-off on Saturday. Pep Guardiola has failed to beat the Blues in both of their Premier League clashes this season and were perhaps fortunate to pick up a point from their thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier in the campaign.
Nevertheless, the current FA Cup holders predictably start as the 8/13 favourites to win Saturday’s fixture and are 1/3 to progress to next month’s final, where they’ll aim to become the first club since Arsenal nine years ago to win the trophy twice in successive seasons. They’ll however be wary of a tiring squad that is exhibiting signs that the season is slowly catching up with them, exemplified by the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland asking to be substituted in their midweek defeat.
It’s difficult to assess what trajectory Chelsea find themselves on at the best of times, but signs are certainly looking rosier after their 6-0 drubbing of Everton on Monday made it eight games unbeaten, even if that run included disappointing draws to Brentford, Burnley and Sheffield United. Cole Palmer’s remarkable rise since signing from Saturday’s opposition has provided some respite from the underlying negative narratives surrounding their season, though even that threatened to be upstaged by Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson’s farcical penalty argument earlier this week.
Chelsea are 19/5 to win and 9/4 to qualify but the real value for this one is goals – the Blues have seen four or more per game in nine of their 10 league games. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 13/10, while a score draw likewise looks a decent punt at 4/1.
Coventry City v Manchester United – Sunday 3pm
Sunday’s semi-final throws up a different complexion as Championship playoff-chasing Coventry City take on a stuttering Manchester United side. The Sky Blues are one of the quartet of Championship clubs who have a realistic chance of infiltrating the current top six places in the division, though back-to-back losses against Southampton and lowly Birmingham will do little to help their promotion bid.
Mark Robins’ men are perhaps undervalued at 5/1 to win in 90 minutes on Sunday, though Manchester United’s price of 4/9 suggest that the bookies are anticipating a much closer match than it appears on paper. Indeed, United’s squad looks like it’s ready for the season to end and were it not for their grip on the final European qualification place being under threat from Chelsea and West Ham, their players may yet be cutting an even more disillusioned figure than they do currently.
Extra time could be a plausible method of progression for either side here – particularly as United’s only Premier League victory for two months came via a shaky 2-0 win against Everton At Old Trafford. Last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth means the Red Devils have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine games and their inability to select a consistent back four means there will always be spaces for opposition to exploit. As such, you could do worse than throwing a bit of change on United’s price of 10/1 to win in extra time, or even 20/1 for Coventry if you fancy a famous cupset.
