FA CUP SATURDAY: We preview Saturday’s FA Cup Semi-Final between MAN CITY v BRIGHTON with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
MANCHESTER CITY V BRIGHTON
5.30pm It’s fair to say that Manchester City have had a dream run through the FA Cup this season and with all the big sides now gone, they are very short odds to win the competition outright. They still have to get past Brighton to reach the final; however if the market is to be believed this looks like a certainty.
The match odds at the time of writing currently trade; Manchester City 1.14, Brighton 29.0 and the draw is 11.0. It will be interesting to see how Brighton decide to play here; do they try and stop City or do they go for it? It’s hard to judge them on their trip to Chelsea during the week as they would have had one eye on this fixture, but they didn’t look like they had the belief to beat a side like Chelsea away from home – will we see the same here?
City have tonnes of experience of Wembley at this stage and it will be another routine day at the office for them. Whereas this is undoubtedly Brighton’s highlight of the season, so we have to expect a solid performance. City have been “just getting the job done” recently in the sense that they are nor hammering teams, they are going a couple of goals ahead and getting the game over and done with.
We expect similar here. City have a very busy fixture list and with a Champions League game during the week, we don’t expect them to be chasing around Wembley’s big pitch trying to score four or five goals if they don’t have to. Any Other Home Win (City to score four or more and win) is trading 2.96 in the Correct Score market and we’re happy to lay those odds. We expect a City win; but Brighton can keep the scoreline respectable.
BETDAQ BEST BET:
Lay Any Other Home Win at 2.96.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQMciBtn
MATCH STATS
- This will be the first meeting between Brighton and Manchester City in the FA Cup since January 1983, when the Seagulls won a fourth round tie en route to their only previous appearance in an FA Cup final.
- Brighton have only won one of their last 11 matches with Man City in all competitions (D3 L7), a 2-1 victory back in April 1989 in a second-tier clash.
- Manchester City have progressed from 10 of their previous 13 FA Cup semi-final appearances, including eight of the last nine. The Citizens have never lost back-to- back semi-finals in the competition.
- Brighton are winless in their four previous matches at Wembley stadium (D1 L3); should they fail to win, they will become just the fifth different side to win on none of their first five visits to the stadium in all competitions (Brentford, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Shrewsbury Town).
- Manchester City have scored more FA Cup goals in 2018-19 than any other side (19). Indeed, they are looking to become the first side to score at least 20 times within a single campaign since Chelsea back in 2011-12 (20), and the first time the club has done so since 1980-81 (20).
- This will be Manchester City’s fourth match at Wembley in 2018-19 (W2 D1). Along with Chelsea (4) and Spurs (19), this will be the first time ever that three different club sides will play at least four games at the stadium within a single campaign.
- Each of Brighton’s four previous goals scored at Wembley have come via different players (Gordon Smith and Gary Stevens v Man Utd in 1983) and (Dean Wilkins & Dave Regis v Notts County in 1991).
- Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez are looking to become the first Man City players to score in two separate games at Wembley Stadium within the same season since Yaya Toure scored in both the 2010-11 FA Cup semi-final and final.
- Brighton striker Jurgen Locadia has had a direct hand in five goals in his seven FA Cup appearances (three goals, two assists), including goals in his last two games.
- Man City have had nine different goalscorers in the FA Cup this season, last having 10 different players net at least once for them in the competition back in 2010-11, when they last lifted the trophy at Wembley.
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