Manchester City vs Sheffield United

Wembley Stadium forms the backdrop for an exciting FA Cup semi-final showdown between Manchester City and Sheffield United.

Despite being held to a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich in midweek Champions League action, Manchester City still progressed into the semi-finals as 4-1 aggregate winners as they remain in contention for a coveted triple. Lifting their first FA Cup trophy since 2018/19 is one of Pep Guardiola’s seasonal goals, with the ‘Citizens’ coming into proceedings off the back of an eye-catching 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W12, D3). Though the abovementioned draw in Munich knocked them down from an outrageous streak of ten straight wins, Man City will be confident of returning to winning ways against a Sheffield side, whom they’ve defeated ‘to nil’ in their last four H2Hs. But with three of those triumphs yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline, a closely-contested affair can’t be ruled out.

On the other hand, second-tier Sheffield United solidified their pursuit of Premier League promotion with a 1-0 home victory over Bristol City in midweek, going seven points clear of third-placed Luton Town in the EFL Championship table. Like their opposition, the ‘Blades’ go into this fixture in the midst of a purple patch, having clocked six wins in their last seven competitive outings (L1), including three without conceding. Despite their status as pre-match outsiders, Sheffield can draw confidence from beating Man City in all four historic duels in the FA Cup, most recently in 2007/08. The continuation of that run would see Paul Heckingbottom’s side make history this weekend by booking a place in the FA Cup for the first time since 1963 after five consecutive semi-final eliminations.