The FA Cup has never been played so late in the year but in a post-covid football landscape, nothing is normal any more.
The oldest cup competition in the world had managed to whittle its entrants down to the last eight before the pandemic shut football down in March.
Now that it has resumed, the tournament is having to squeeze itself into some tight windows alongside the Premier League.
With the league title now officially Liverpool’s, the FA Cup is one of the two trophies that Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City side are no longer reigning English champions, can still lift this season.
They are still defending champions of the FA Cup and are favourites to win it again, with city rivals United second in the betting to claim their first trophy for three years.
Both Manchester sides have to travel for their quarter-final clashes, with City heading to Newcastle in the last tie of the round while United will be the first to know their semi-final fate as they play Norwich on Saturday evening.
FA Cup quarter-final fixtures
Saturday 27 June
- Norwich vs Manchester United, 5.30pm, BBC One
Sunday 28 June
- Sheffield United vs Arsenal, 1pm, BT Sport 1
- Leicester vs Chelsea, 4pm, BT Sport 1
- Newcastle vs Manchester City, 6.30pm, BBC One
Semi-final draw
The draw for the semi-final will take place before the line-up is fully complete.
The FA have confirmed that the four balls will be randomly drawn at half-time of the Newcastle vs Manchester City tie at St James’ Park, meaning it will be around 7.20pm on Sunday 28 June.
The games themselves will be played on Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July at Wembley Stadium ahead of the final on Saturday 1 August.
Numbers
- 1: Sheffield United/Arsenal
- 2: Newcastle/Manchester City
- 3: Norwich/Manchester United
- 4: Leicester/Chelsea
How to watch the draw
The draw will be live on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer but will also be available to stream worldwide on social media.
The process will be shown on the FA Cup’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2Z6aYIU
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