Domestic football is what the majority of fans of the beautiful game tune in to see, and understandably so. International football only comes around every so often, whereas the actual club games occur on a week to week basis. Of course, most of those games we’re referring to are in the league, and not the cup – but that doesn’t mean we should neglect the true magic of cup football. This weekend we’re going to be treated to two FA Cup semi finals that are as different as they are exciting, with the first being contested between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The game will be played at Wembley Stadium, with both teams playing for the right to head right back to Wembley next month for the final. Whoever gets there will meet the winner of the Watford vs Wolverhampton Wanderers semi final that takes place on Sunday afternoon, which in itself is a really intriguing match. The popular theory is that City are just going to run through the rest of the competition on their way towards the FA Cup crown, but if you’ve been watching the other three teams left in the competition this season, you’ll know that they’re more than willing to put up a fight.

It’s no secret that Pep Guardiola’s men are in the running for the quadruple, with the first leg of their quest having already been completed. If they beat the Seagulls then they’ll only be one game away from their second trophy of the season, and then, they’d have the Premier League and Champions League remaining. They’ve got the squad necessary and the quality required to make that kind of push, but they can’t afford to overlook a team like Brighton – because they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeve, too.

Brighton have had a solid enough season, because let’s face it, survival was always going to be the goal for them. Under the guidance of Chris Hughton they’ve been able to scratch and claw their way towards 15th in the table, and whilst they’ve still got some work to do, they should have enough to steer themselves clear. If they can edge their way towards survival then they’ve got a good base with which to build on, and if they can frustrate City from the word go on Saturday, who knows what they could end up achieving by the time the full time whistle blows.

Manchester City’s last six games had a similar theme running through all of them: dominance. They kicked things off with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Bournemouth, before beating Watford 3-1. They went on to face Schalke and, when we say face Schalke, we mean dominate Schalke. They tore through the German side with ruthless efficiency, registering a 7-0 win in the process. They then beat Swansea 3-2 in their FA Cup quarter final to book their ticket to Wembley, but it certainly wasn’t easy. They went on to beat Fulham 2-0, and they did the same to their relegation-threatened rivals Cardiff.

Brighton, on the other hand, kicked things off with a 2-1 loss to Leicester City which was as narrow as it was disappointing. They went on to beat Huddersfield 1-0 which was an important victory in the relegation battle, and then came one of their biggest results of the season: a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Crystal Palace. They then pulled off a miracle by overcoming Millwall in their FA Cup quarter final to book their ticket to Wembley, but unfortunately, it seems like they’ve been focusing too heavily on the cup after they registered back to back losses against Southampton and Chelsea in the Premier League.

The head to head between these two teams is actually a lot closer than you may think, with City leading 11-5 with four draws. The last meeting went down earlier on in the campaign, when Pep’s men cruised their way towards a nice 2-0 victory. Since then both teams have evolved and changed quite a bit, though, to the point where you’d expect a different kind of game this time around. We aren’t suggesting Brighton are a completely new and reinvented team, but you have to wonder what the difference between the FA Cup and the Premier League will be when it comes down to it.

Zinchenko is set to miss out for this one, courtesy of a hamstring injury that he picked up on Wednesday. Delph is still out, with Danilo and Laporte both set to battle for a place at left back – although battle may not be the correct terminology. Aguero missed out on the win against Cardiff but he should be in the squad for this one, with David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Sterling all being expected to start. It should be a pretty strong squad all in all for City, which is to be expected in a game of this magnitude.

Yves Bissouma was missed in the last round after his suspension, but he’s expected to return and feature in some way for Brighton this weekend. Solly March won’t be recovering in time to make the trip, after his injury that he sustained against Chelsea. Locadia will be assessed before kick off, although it’s up in the air regarding whether or not he’ll be cleared. In terms of their overall squad Brighton are quite clearly the underdogs from a quality perspective, but they’ve got heart – which can take you a long way, especially if you’re up for the cup.

Man City vs Brighton Betting Prediction

The key for Brighton is going to be defensive stability and not letting the occasion get to them. If they try to move the ball around and show their own attacking prowess, they could get caught out pretty badly. We can imagine a scenario in which Brighton hold out the City surge for the first half hour or so, only for a moment of magic to give the Premier League champions the lead. The Seagulls’ heads will drop, but not to the point where it becomes a riot – which, in itself, is a victory against City.

City will start to gain confidence in the second 45 minutes, but as long as Brighton can keep it close, they’re in with a chance. We still believe that Man City will end up winning this game and progressing into the final, but only by a narrow 1-0 scoreline. As we’ve seen throughout the course of the season things could get out of hand before we enough know what has hit us, but Hughton is smarter than that. Brighton always seem to keep it relatively close when they play City, and they should be applauded for it.

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