The worlds most famous domestic Cup competition is down to the last four – and this weekend, Wembley will see which two teams will be returning in May to play for the famous trophy, the FA Cup, as Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur whilst Southampton face up to Chelsea.
Here, FantasySports.co.uk previews both games, as well as showing what happened when the author was quizzed by co-writer Drew Farmer in a video discussion about the two huge games!
MANCHESTER UNITED v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
A huge game for both teams, as both will be desperate to have a trophy to show some reward for what have been frustrating Premier League and European campaigns. Both United and Spurs, over the season, have looked at times unstoppable, but also at times quite tepid. Their Premier League clashes have both been won by the home team to zero – although Tottenham beat United at Wembley very comfortably at the end of January. But, despite Spurs arguably having ‘home’ advantage by using Wembley as their home ground this season, having 40,000 Manchester United fans in there will nullify any advantage they may have. United looked good in their win over Bournemouth on Wednesday, though looked equally as inept against WBA on Sunday, whilst Tottenham were held at Brighton after being outclassed by Manchester City. This tie looks extremely close to call, and it may just be all down to the two respective managers who can inspire their team the most. Jose Mourinho rarely ends a season without some success to point to and whilst it has been a turbulent season for the Special One, we think he will just get one over his talented managerial adversary and see his team snatch a win, with United maybe just having one or two more big game players than Spurs.
PREDICTION : Manchester United 2 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur
CHELSEA v SOUTHAMPTON
Whilst the league table would suggest this would be something of a formality for the Stamford Bridge outfit, anyone who saw the teams clash at St Marys last Saturday will know that Southampton have enough in them to trouble Chelsea and, for 70 minutes, looked relatively comfortable with a 2-0 lead and seemingly destined for three vital Premier League points. But the arrival of Olivier Giroud, as replacement for the ineffective Alvaro Morata, changed all that, and eight minutes later Chelsea were 3-2 up and claimed the spoils. You have to wonder what effect that will have on the Saints, who will be more concerned for their Premier League survival than FA Cup glory. Chelsea, much like Manchester United and Tottenham, will be desperate to lift the FA Cup, which surely must happen if Antonio Conte is to continue in charge at the Bridge and the likes of Hazard, Kante etc are to be retained. An early goal for the Blues could well kill the tie as a contest and turn it into something of a procession – and, sadly for the Saints, we see this happening.
PREDICTION : Chelsea 4 – 0 Southampton
To see our two principle article writers discuss the FA Cup Semi Finals in more detail please CLICK HERE
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