FA Cup Semi Final Preview: Manchester City v Brighton

Another weekend in London for Manchester City who face Brighton in the FA Cup Semi Final on Saturday 6th April in a 17:30 kick off.

It seems churlish as a Manchester City fan to bemoan the frequency of expensive trips to Wembley stadium and the consequent costs of travel and accommodation. These are the moments we should be able to savour so it is tinged with sadness that so many City fans have simply been priced out of attending the event. Those that are lucky enough to be able to attend will be representing all Manchester City fans so let us hope they can be heard loud and proud.

The game itself is not a formality. Brighton can pose a threat to any Premier League side but their record this season against Top 6 sides is poor, having not won a single game. Indeed they come into this match on an indifferent run of form, but this is a one off Cup tie and as City fans we know from bitter experience that any side can step up and give us a game in a one off match.

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To their credit under Chris Hughton, Brighton have crafted a careful and attractive style of play, but as their form and results have dipped, that style has been somewhat compromised by a more pragmatic approach. In preparation for this match Hughton has made it clear he will not seek to go toe to toe with Manchester City and suggested a more defensive approach will be needed.

Brighton are likely to seek to defend en masse against City and try to stifle any of our play. They may try to be not very adventurous in their attacking unless there are clear opportunities such as corners and free kicks. They have a wily old fashioned centre forward in Glenn Murray who always seems to have a goal in him and will require some careful defending.

However City should have enough quality to power through even the most accomplished defences. Although games can always be opened by making simple mistakes or receiving a red card – as we saw against Wigan in the FA Cup last season – so City will need to be focussed and intense.

Pep Guardiola has said his players are keen to add to this trophy and have been fully committed in training all week. If that is the case, and City are able to start as quickly as they tend to, then the result could be assured pretty quickly. Wembley always seems to be a big pitch and we like to fill it at all times.

Whilst we have a Champions League Quarter Final to look forward to next week I think Guardiola may well simply go with his best available team at Wembley. This will mean he has players competing for that starting place, knowing that any drop in performance will mean they will lose their space. This could be an important driver in our hunt for more trophies.

There are choices for Guardiola to make in defence. Is Benjamin Mendy ready to start at left back or will we see an emergency deployment like Danilo or Laporte? Centre backs will also be difficult to select as there are all four fully fit and available for selection. I think Kompany will start and maybe Stones.

In midfield will Fernandinho be risked after his recent return to fitness or will Ilkay Gundogan get a chance to plan again? Which combination of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden will get the chance? I can see Foden and Silva as the starters here but almost any combination is possible.

In attack there are probably three clear starters. I would expect to see Gabriel Jesus flanked by Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva. Mahrez has not done enough for his chance and Sane may be rested for unleashing at Tottenham.

The FA Cup is still a special competition for me and many fans. This year we may be the only big club which has treated it full respect and we deserve to prosper for that. I believe this will be the case again on Saturday.

Predicted Starting XI

Goalkeeper

Ederson

Defence

Walker, Stones, Kompany, Mendy

Midfield

Gundogan, Silva, Foden

Attack

Sterling, Jesus, Bernardo