Manchester City can take another step closer towards their quad goals on Saturday when they face Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup semifinal round.
The Citizens already have one trophy in hand, the EFL Cup, and just two more wins in the world’s oldest organized football/soccer/futbol competition gets them their second piece of silverware this season, with their chances of grabbing the other two (Premier League, Champions League) still very much realistic.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford FC face off in the other FA Cup semifinal matchup on Sunday to determine the final match pairing on May 18th.
Let’s take a look at the fitness situation for both teams, starting with the heavy underdog Seagulls. Brighton boss Chris Hughton will be without midfielder Pascal Gross (hamstring injury), but that is the only confirmed unavailable at this time.
It is possible that both Solly March and Jurgen Locadia will overcome their calf injuries in order to be contention for this one.
For City, the primary injury concern is striker Sergio Aguero, who missed the Cardiff City win last night due to lack of match fitness.
“We will see on Aguero,” City manager Pep Guardiola said in post-game.
In regards to Oleksandr Zinchenko, who limped off injured in the first half on Wednesday, Guardiola said: “It doesn’t look good. Right know I don’t know but it doesn’t look good for next game.”
“He gives a lot and is an important player for us. He knows how we play but it is what it is, during the season this has happened a lot we play a lot of minutes we will accept it and will find a solution.”
“I don’t know which one because Danilo not his natural position because he is right. We will see what decision to make ahead of the FA Cup semi final.”
Then there is the question of Benjamin Mendy, a player who rarely sees the pitch, and has often found himself in Guardiola’s doghouse due to concerns about his professionalism.
When asked about Mendy’s availability, Guardiola responded: “We will see tomorrow how he trains and how he feels but we don’t have many options.”
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester City FA Cup Semifinal FYIs
Kick-off: Saturday April 6, Wembley Stadium 5:30 pm GMT
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Betting Odds: According to The Action Network, Manchester City have been the odds on favorites throughout the entire tournament and are now priced at -275 to lift the FA Cup at the end.
Manchester City media activities: to be held in the press conference room in the media zone at the City Football Academy campus, at 1.30pm on Friday 5 April. The embargoed section of the press conference will be held until 10.30pm on Friday 5 April.
Final Score Prediction: City 2, Brighton 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.