London: Holders Chelsea or Manchester United will face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals and Wigan Athletic will play Championship Millwall or Blackburn Rovers following the draw on Sunday. Manchester United raced into an early 2-0 lead over Chelsea who fought back to draw 2-2 at Old Trafford in their quarter-final on Sunday, forcing a replay at Stamford Bridge.
Their last cup meeting there produced a nine-goal thriller with Chelsea beating United 5-4 in a League Cup match in October, three days after United won a league game 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. Premier League champions Manchester City, who won the FA Cup two years ago after beating United in the semi-finals, romped into the last four with a 5-0 win over Championship strugglers Barnsley on Saturday.
Wigan Athletic reached the semis for the first time in their 81-year history when they won 3-0 at Everton and they will play Blackburn or Millwall who drew 0-0 in south London on Sunday. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan might well be hoping Blackburn provide the opposition at Wembley which would be an emotional occasion for him.
He was in the Blackburn side that lost 3-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1960, the last time they reached the final, when he suffered a broken leg which effectively ended his top-class career. He later became a highly successful businessman, overseeing and sustaining Wigan's place in Premier League since they gaining promotion eight years ago. The semi-finals will take place at Wembley on April 13 and 14.
Comments
0 comment