Date:
16 April 2022
Time:
10:30 ET Canada-USA | 16:30 Cairo Local Time
Venue:
Wembley
Referee:
Michael Oliver (England)
For the second time in under a week, Manchester City and Liverpool are set to face each other directly on Saturday, this time on neutral ground. They will be battling it out for a place in the FA Cup final, which means the venue of action is Wembley.
Manchester City
City were obviously hoping to put some distance between them and the Merseysiders on the table, but they won’t be too unhappy with keeping it as is either.
They’ve been the dominant force in English football for a while now, and they’ll be looking to prove that between now and the end of the season. Apart from the Premier League and the FA Cup, they will also be looking to win the Champions League, the only trophy that still eludes them even though many believe Pep Guardiola was hired for that very purpose back in 2016.
City’s last-six run consists of a goalless draw away to Crystal Palace (who are set to face Chelsea in the other semifinal), a 1-4 win away to Southampton, a 0-2 win away to Burnley, a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at home, the 2-2 home draw against Liverpool last week, and a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Atletico in Madrid in the second leg of their clash in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Liverpool
Liverpool had an arguably easier task in midweek, facing Benfica at Anfield after a 1-3 win in Lisbon, and it was a rather interesting match that ended in a 3-3 draw.
A win at the Etihad last week would have seen Jurgen Klopp’s men overtake City at the top of the Premier League, but it’s never easy to leave that stadium undefeated, and they had to settle for that.
Liverpool have already won a trophy this season, beating Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final, and for all of the attempts from Klopp and his players to play the term down, they’re obviously still chasing that elusive ‘quadruple’ never before won in English football.
The Merseysiders have been on a good run of results recently. Their last six fixtures in all competitions include a 0-2 win away to Arsenal, a 0-1 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarterfinals, a 2-0 home win over Watford, the 1-3 win over Benfica in Portugal, the 2-2 draw away to City and the 3-3 draw at home against Benfica.
As things stand at the moment, Klopp has no injury worries at the moment, having rested the majority of his team on Wednesday. Trent Alexander-Arnold will be back to take over from Joe Gomez on the right defensive flank, Andy Robertson from Kostas Tsimikas on the left, Virgil van Dijk to take command of the back line with Joel Matip at his side, Fabinho to anchor the midfield, Thiago Alcantara the man closest to Fabinho, Salah and Mane in the wide attacking positions, and Jota as the central attacker.
LIVE: Manchester City vs Liverpool | FA Cup
10:30 ET Canada-USA | 16:30 Cairo Local Time
