Manchester City face Chelsea and Leicester take on Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley this weekend.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main talking points ahead of the games.
City’s quadruple quest
Pep Guardiola may have tried to avoid talk of the quadruple but, as his formidable Manchester City team march relentlessly on, it is only growing louder. The Premier League leaders go into the game on a high after their midweek Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund. City were beaten by Leeds last weekend but that merely seems to underline the flexibility Guardiola now has, having built up a commanding lead, to focus on the very biggest games. This would be another one, as would next weekend’s Carabao Cup final. Winning the quadruple would ordinarily seem fanciful, but the way Guardiola has expertly managed his squad makes it seem realistic. He will certainly not be willing to accept any drop-off in intensity on Saturday.
Chelsea’s resurgence under Tuchel
The odds may favour City but that does not mean Chelsea, buoyed by their own run to the Champions League semi-finals, will not be the toughest of opponents. Their form since Thomas Tuchel took charge in January has been almost as eye-catching as City’s. The only losses in that time have been a freak 5-2 thrashing by West Brom after having a man sent off and their midweek defeat by Porto in the second leg of a tie they still won. Their success has been based on solid defence and it will be interesting to see how they deal with City’s attack as Tuchel comes up against Guardiola for the first time in English football.
Leicester out to finish on a high
The weekend marks the next step towards the return of spectators, with 4,000 to be permitted for the second of the semi-finals between Leicester and Southampton. There will be no fans of either club, with the crowd being drawn from local residents, but it is clearly a significant and welcome move forward. There will be 8,000, including fans, in attendance for the Carabao Cup final with potentially 20,000 permitted into the FA Cup final.
