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[Albion] Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***



Dick Head

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jan 3, 2010
13,890
Quaxxann
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Man City v Albion

FA CUP SEMI-FINAL

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Date: Saturday 6th April 2019
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Roger East
Reserve Assistant: Neil Davies
VAR: Paul Tierney
AVAR: Andrew Halliday

TEAM NEWS

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Sergio Aguero is "almost fit" after a muscle problem and he will travel with the squad.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is out with a hamstring problem, so Danilo or Benjamin Mendy will start at left-back.

Brighton winger Solly March is a fitness doubt because of the tight calf that prompted his substitution at Chelsea in midweek.

Jurgen Locadia missed that game with a similar issue and will be assessed.


MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

Steve Wilson: Manchester City's status as overwhelming favourites to reach the FA Cup final is warranted - but nobody should underestimate Chris Hughton's ability to come up with a plan.

Brighton play most games with at least half an eye on keeping matters as tight as possible defensively, and this will clearly be no different.

They also carry a threat from set pieces, with Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk always happy to be brave in a congested penalty area. They also have, in Glenn Murray, a striker willing and able to work his socks off on his own and capable of taking the odd chance that might fall his way.

Having said all that, City would probably win this game at least nine times out of 10 - and it's entirely within their own gift to keep that quadruple on track.


WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "When I was young you saw the final of the FA Cup more than a Premier League game.

"The tradition, the fans, the managers - I cannot deny how nice it would be for me personally.

Chris Hughton on his side's approach: "I think it's foolish to go toe to toe. I'm certainly not embarrassed to say that you have to be able to try and contain them.

"They have too many options if you feel that you can take the game to them. They have so many strategies that can open you up.

"The last thing you need is to go into a game like this and you're very quickly out of the game."


MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head


  • [*=left]Manchester City have won all three Premier League encounters by an aggregate score of 7-1. They have only lost once to Brighton in 11 meetings (excluding a penalty shootout) since the south coast side knocked them out of the FA Cup in 1983.
    [*=left]However, then-League One Brighton did eliminate City on penalties in the League Cup in 2008. Brighton's Glenn Murray, a goalscorer that night, and City's Vincent Kompany both played.

Man City


  • [*=left]City are on a run of 21 wins in 22 matches, including the penalty shootout victory in the Carabao Cup final.
    [*=left]The five-time FA Cup winners have won 10 of their previous 13 semi-finals in the competition, including eight of the past nine.
    [*=left]Pep Guardiola's side have scored an unrivalled 19 FA Cup goals this season. The last side to score 20 times in a single campaign were Chelsea in 2011-12.
    [*=left]They have had nine different goalscorers in the FA Cup this season.
    [*=left]City have won six successive penalty shootouts, including against Leicester and Chelsea in the Carabao Cup this season.

Albion


  • [*=left]Brighton have never won at Wembley, losing three successive matches there since a 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the 1983 FA Cup final.
    [*=left]This is only a second FA Cup semi-final for Brighton, who were quarter-finalists last season.
    [*=left]Since promotion, they have lost all 11 competitive away games against the established top six - scoring twice and conceding 24.
    [*=left]They have won three penalty shootouts in a row, all in the FA Cup, and eight of their past nine.
 






OzMike

Well-known member
Oct 2, 2006
13,277
Perth Australia
Chris’s comments just about sums it up, I will go to bed and watch the replay in the morning.
We can’t take the game to anyone, I expect City to have 98% possession and Ryan the other 2% picking the ball out of the net.
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Looking forward to not having to read (and contribute to) the thread as the game progresses :lolol:
 




Justice

Dangerous Idiot
Jun 21, 2012
20,662
Born In Shoreham
Chris’s comments just about sums it up, I will go to bed and watch the replay in the morning.
We can’t take the game to anyone, I expect City to have 98% possession and Ryan the other 2% picking the ball out of the net.
No one gave us a chance in 1983 either, what a fantastic day hoping for another.
 


OzMike

Well-known member
Oct 2, 2006
13,277
Perth Australia
No one gave us a chance in 1983 either, what a fantastic day hoping for another.

We played football in those days, I know we got relegated but we played with a better style than we do now.
I support Brighton and love football, just wished we would start playing it again.
 








Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
19,863
Enjoy the day everybody and don't let the result spoil it to much!

#waited36years
 






hart's shirt

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
11,076
Kitbag in Dubai
Here's some music to get us in the mood.

Turn up the volume!

 


MattBackHome

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
11,873
Up and at em. Daughters swimming lesson this morning then I'm ON IT.

I've got a feeling in my bones that we might not lose by 4 clear goals which will be a bonus.

Sent from my STF-L09 using Tapatalk
 


Cozzy

New member
Jul 26, 2018
869
Grimsby
Looking forward to the occasion , not so much the eventual scoreline. I hope we give a good account of ourselves & if the footballing gods are kind we may even just cause an upset though that will require a lot of changes out of the norm to achieve like City not hitting the barn door and half their players going off injured so it ends eleven V five.
 




Happy Exile

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Apr 19, 2018
2,134
Child up since 4.48am with excitement. Going to head up in a couple of hours, much earlier than planned on the train and give them a full day out of it...
 


SeagullDubai

Well-known member
May 13, 2016
3,561
The Dubai seagulls supporters club are out in force this evening. Two of us meeting in the Dubliners at 1930. If anyone else wishes to join us we will be the ones in the blue and white stripes.

Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk
 




Wellesley

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2013
4,973
I love watching us use the same old negative tactics away from home. It's so exciting not knowing how long it will be until we concede our first goal. I find it quite inspiring, I'm sure the players do too, hearing Chris inform us how slim our chances our, how magnificent Manchester City are. "They will need to have an off day and we........ blah, blah, blah." Why not say "I have complete faith in my group of players, we are massively up for this game and I know we have the ability to cause an upset." It's a one off FA cup semi final. Let's have a go for f***s sake.
 




BN41Albion

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2017
6,826
I love watching us use the same old negative tactics away from home. It's so exciting not knowing how long it will be until we concede our first goal. I find it quite inspiring, I'm sure the players do too, hearing Chris inform us how slim our chances our, how magnificent they are. "They will need to have an off day and we........ blah, blah, blah." Why not say "I have complete faith in my group of players, we are massively up for this game and I know we have the ability to cause an upset." It's a one off FA cup semi final. Let's have a go for f***s sake.

It's a shame he's been so defeatest already. And all but said we're going to sit 11 men behind the ball in a cup semi final (unless he's bluffing). However I'm pretty confident he'll be far more positive in the dressing room behind closed doors... Surely!?!
 


OzMike

Well-known member
Oct 2, 2006
13,277
Perth Australia
The Dubai seagulls supporters club are out in force this evening. Two of us meeting in the Dubliners at 1930. If anyone else wishes to join us we will be the ones in the blue and white stripes.

Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk

Will you be drinking anything stronger that apple juice ?
 


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