Wembley takes centre stage in European football this weekend with the FA Cup Semi Finals providing us with a pair fascinating clashes under the arch.
In the early hours of Sunday morning Manchester City will continue their pursuit of a treble when they host Championship side Sheffield United, with the Blades starting as massive underdogs.
24 hours later we have an all Premier League clash with the story of the season, Brighton & Hove Albion reaching this stage for the third time in their history.
They have drawn Manchester United as their opponent, with the Red Devils chasing their first FA Cup win since 2016 as well as the second trophy of the Erik ten Haag era.
We’ve got you covered with our FA Cup match previews and best bets for both fixtures below so read on and see who we are backing.
Let’s not pretend this is shaping up as some sort of close match up, this is very much a Monstars vs Tune Squad, Ducks v Hawks, Team USA v Iceland, Cowboys v Little Giants situation, except unlike in the movies, the plucky underdog is going to lose.
It’s just a case of how much City win by and finding a betting play that has some value to it.
Perhaps the biggest source of intrigue around this match is what sort of squad Pep Guardiola will deploy, given that this is sandwiched between two massively important fixtures in their push for the Champions League and Premier League titles.
There will be no shortage of options if City do rotate but it does make the player markets a stay away just in the event of Erling Haaland getting a rest ahead of Thursday morning’s clash with Arsenal.
Compare that to Sheffield’s lengthy injury list and the fact they are also coming off midweek duties with a league match against Bristol just adds to the already significant degree of difficulty.
Even though City have conceded a goal in four of their last five outings, Sheffield’s attack is far from prolific and you have to like the Premier League side’s chances of winning with a clean sheet.
Back Manchester City to Win to Nil @ $1.87
If you were in any doubt over how good Brighton’s season has been, consider that they are heading into this match as (very slight) favourites to defeat Manchester United in 90 minutes.
While not many knew of it at the time, Brighton gave us an idea of where they were going this season on the opening weekend when they went to Old Trafford and knocked off Manchester United 2-1.
That has laid the platform for their remarkable season and they will bring some strong form into this contest, with their only loss since the start of March coming in controversial circumstances at Tottenham.
United might be in third place in the league however it has been a far from ideal season for them with inconsistencies costing them a title shot, however an FA Cup to go with their Carabao Cup would make for a decent conclusion to an eventful campaign.
However at this point, you have to back the story of the Seagulls, Brighton have been so impressive this season and regardless of what issues are thrown their way, they just seem to find ways to keep winning.
Extra time is certainly a possibility here but Brighton is playing with plenty of confidence and the value on them to win in 90 minutes is well worth taking.
Back Brighton to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.45