EMIRATES FA CUP SEMI FINAL WEEKEND 18th - 19th JULY 2020

The semi-finals of this season's Emirates FA Cup will see Arsenal take on cup holders Manchester City while Manchester United are to face Chelsea. The last-four draw took place at St James' Park during the interval of City's quarter-final victory over Newcastle United.  With safety restrictions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Magpies legend Alan Shearer drew the four teams out of the hat on his own, under the guidance of host Gary Lineker.
Manchester City's win followed victories for Arsenal and Chelsea earlier on Sunday, while United beat Norwich City on Saturday evening. The United vs Chelsea is a rematch of the 2018 Final as well as 2007's – the first to take place at the new Wembley – while Arsenal and City met in 2016-17's last four. The Emirates FA Cup semi-finals are due to take place over the weekend of 18 July and 19 July, with The Heads Up FA Cup Final scheduled for Saturday 1 August. All three matches will be played at Wembley Stadium connected by EE. 

The schedule for the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals, to take place at Wembley Stadium, is now confirmed:
Saturday 18th July
Arsenal 2 - 0 Manchester City
Aubameybang 19'  71'
kick off 19:45  [Live on BT Sport]
Record FA Cup winners Arsenal face the current holders Manchester City in the first of our Semi Finals this weekend, usually in front of about 90,000 crowd, this is going to have the most eerie feeling in front of no one. City will start favourites as Arsenal have been fairly indifferent since the restart, though if Pep chooses to rest a few of his superstars especially with a Champions League tie coming up soon then on any given day a shock could happen. For City the form of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling has been nothing short of sensational, Sterling is fancied to score again in a game where there should be plenty of goals. Arsenal having lost the North London derby 2-1 to Spurs will see this competition as last chance of silverware and a route back to the Europa League which is a bit of a come down from a club that was a regular in the Champions League spots not too long ago.

An outstanding display from the Arsenal to beat City 2-0 and reach their 21st FA Cup Final!
Selected Bets

• Manchester City to win and both teams to score @7/4.
• Penalty awarded in 90 mins @5/2.
• Raheem Sterling to score first @ 4/1.
• David Luiz to be booked @5/2.

Sunday 19th July
Manchester United 1 - 3 Chelsea
Fernandes (pen) 85'   /  Giroud 45'+11, Mount 46', Maguire og 74'
kick off 18:00  [Live on BBC One]

The second Semi Final is on Sunday and for me is very open, both have good attacking flair and on occasions they have a 'nasty' side to them too, don't mean they are dirty but physical and will take no prisoners. Both sides have been making use of their younger players, United with Marcus Rashford, Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood in good form while Chelsea have the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour proving that you don't always need to spend the big bucks to be challenging for the top four in the Premier League. Here in the FA Cup though this looks very open, though I am siding with Manchester United to set up a possible all Manchester derby in the final. Wow got that way off, didn't I oops.

Selected Bets

• Manchester United to win and both teams to score @4/1.
• A penalty awarded in 90 mins @3/1. :)
• Mason Greenwood to score anytime @9/4

Winning clubs will receive £1.8m from The FA prize fund while the losers will pick up £900,000. 

This season’s Emirates FA Cup Final will be dedicated to Heads Up, with lead partner Emirates donating their title to the campaign. As a result, the showpiece event in the football calendar, provisionally scheduled to take place on Saturday 1 August 2020, will be known as the Heads Up FA Cup Final. Spearheaded by our president, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Heads Up is a partnership between the Football Association and Heads Together that harnesses the influence and popularity of football to change the conversation on mental health.