FA Cup: Manchester City vs Liverpool
At 22:30 Beijing time on April 16, 2022, the SEMI-final of the FA Cup is about to start, when "Blue Moon" Manchester City will face "Reds" Liverpool, this game is the second time the two teams meet within a week. Manchester City has recently fought on multiple fronts, the team schedule can be said to be very dense, fortunately, the team led by Guardiola has lived up to expectations, and has remained unbeaten in 10 consecutive regular matches, and still maintains the status of leader at the end of the league, while the recent game with Liverpool, although it shakes hands and makes peace, still occupies a certain advantage in the scene. In the Champions League, the Blue Moon eliminated La Liga giants Atletico Madrid through 2 rounds of competition, and then rushed to the semi-finals, and played against Real Madrid at the end of this month and the beginning of next month.
Manchester City have another key match tonight, the semi-final of the FA Cup, which will once again play the Reds. In terms of lineup, the current core main player De Bruyne is suspected of injury, and in the last game against Atletico Madrid, he was replaced in the 65th minute, and it is uncertain whether he can participate in this game. As for this FA Cup, Manchester City participated in 6 FA Cup matches during Guardiola's coaching, of which 5 were in the top 4, which shows that the team still attaches more importance to this competition. In a pre-match press conference, manager Pep Guardiola also spoke about this, saying, "We have a chance to reach the FA Cup final, the prestige of the FA Cup is very high, sometimes even higher than the Premier League. ”
Liverpool have also been excellent this season, currently achieving good results on all fronts, first bringing home the trophy of the English League Cup; currently ranking second in the league, but only one point behind Manchester City, still have the opportunity to compete for the title; and in the Champions League, the Reds eliminated Portuguese Super League side Benfica in midweek and successfully advanced to the semi-finals, facing the "yellow submarine" Villarreal at the end of this month.
Liverpool's recent fixture schedule has also been very tight, playing Manchester City again in a week's time, which is also facing a severe test for the Reds. In terms of lineup, Salah and Jota are currently suspected of injury, and whether they can participate in this game is doubtful; it is also worth noting that Liverpool's recent backline has also had loopholes, and in the game against Benfee, they have conceded 2 goals in 9 minutes, which shows that there are still many problems. In the pre-match press conference for this match, manager Klopp also spoke about his opponent Manchester City, saying, "I think we and Manchester City have considered a lot of tactical issues about this game and have to do that. Manchester City were very strong last week, we weren't at our best and in some positions we could show a completely different level, so I'd love to see a game where both teams are at their best and it's going to be even more interesting. ”
The two teams have met twice in the league this season, both of which have been drawn 2-2, and for now, the two sides can be said to be indistinguishable in terms of strength comparison. In terms of recent situation, both teams have recently played the Champions League quarter-finals, which can be said to be very close in terms of schedule and relatively large consumption in terms of physical fitness. Judging from the current attitude of all parties, although the performance is decent, it is still more jealous of Manchester City, combined with the current state of the two sides, Manchester City has a better chance of advancing to the FINAL OF the FA Cup.