What a soul crushing loss for Manchester City earlier tonight! We will not have a repeat European champion this season, as Real Madrid bounced the holders in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.
And it took extra time, plus a penalty shoot out to get a result at The Etihad too.
FA Cup Semifinal FYIs
Kick: Sat. Apr. 20, 5:15 pm, Wembley Stadium, London, UK
Team News: Chelsea Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester City
Fun Fact: City are unbeaten in their last 8 (W6D2) versus Chelsea across all competitions
That is simply just what Real Madrid does- they win in Europe; period. Los Blancos find a way.
City don’t have much time to ruminate on it, because here comes another cup competition. The Sky Blues have become the first club to ever reach the semifinals of the FA Cup in six straight seasons.
During the Pep Guardiola era, City have reached the FA Cup semis in 7 of 8 seasons.
MCFC Team News
Everyone is pretty much fit at this point. There are were some concerns, entering the loss to Madrid that Nathan Ake, Phil Foden, Rodri and John Stones could all miss out tonight.
However, all four were named to the squad.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction vs Chelsea (FA Cup Semifinal)
Ederson; Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol; Rodri, John Stones; Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden; Erling Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.