Just four Premier League teams remain in the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage, with at least one Championship club guaranteed a trip to Wembley.
Manchester City are the favourites to lift the trophy heading into the weekend’s quarter-final action, with Pep Guardiola meeting a familiar face in the dugout when Vincent Kompany returns to the Etihad with Championship leaders Burnley.
That reunion is Saturday’s only FA Cup match, with three ties taking place on Sunday.
Sheffield United host Blackburn in the all-Championship clash from midday, before Brighton host Grimsby Town later in the afternoon.
Grimsby are the first fourth-tier club to reach the FA Cup quarters since Cambridge United in 1990, with the League Two side beating Southampton in the previous round.
The final FA Cup match of the weekend sees Manchester United host Fulham at Old Trafford.
How to watch the FA Cup quarter-finals
Saturday 18 March
- Man City vs Burnley (5.45pm kick-off, BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online)
Sunday 19 March
- Sheffield United vs Blackburn (12pm, ITV, STV, ITV Hub and STV Player)
- Brighton vs Grimsby (2.15pm, BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online)
- Man Utd vs Fulham (4.30pm, ITV, STV, ITV Hub and STV Player)
All eyes will be on Sunday’s draw, therefore, with Manchester rivals City and United tipped to progress.
Should City and United be drawn together in the semis, then one of Brighton, Grimsby, Sheffield United or Blackburn would be guaranteed to make the final.
When is the FA Cup semi-final draw?
The draw for the FA Cup semi-final will take place on Sunday 19 March.
BBC One will show the draw after the conclusion of Brighton’s match with Grimsby, which kicks off at 2.15pm.
Providing the tie does not go to extra time, the semi-final draw should therefore take place shortly after 4pm GMT. Extra time would push the draw closer to 5pm.
The draw can also be streamed on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport online, plus the official Emirates FA Cup social media channels Twitter and Facebook.
FA Cup semi-final ball numbers
- 1 Manchester City or Burnley
- 2 Manchester United or Fulham
- 3 Brighton & Hove Albion or Grimsby Town
- 4 Sheffield United or Blackburn Rovers
When are the FA Cup semi-finals?
The FA Cup semi-finals will take place at Wembley across the weekend of Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April.
The final will be played at Wembley on Saturday 3 June.
Inside Kompany’s Burnley revolution
By Mark Douglas, i‘s northern football correspondent
A brilliant player and hugely promising coach, those close to Kompany insist he is an even better man.
Kompany has a masters degree in business, speaks seven languages, manages an extensive property portfolio and has raised millions to combat homelessness in Manchester through his Tackle4Mcr initiative. He is a man of integrity and conviction.
Those values have made him a good fit at Burnley. “He’s definitely got something very, very special,” Alastair Campbell tells i.
Tony Blair’s former spin doctor wears many hats these days – author, podcaster, acerbic critic of the Conservative Government. But as a passionate supporter of Burnley and a man who literally wrote the book on leadership, he is well placed to offer insight into what makes Kompany such a natural manager.
“A few years ago I went to Manchester City to interview Raheem Sterling for GQ and Vicky Kloss [City’s former chief communications officer] was looking after me,” he recalls.
“After I’d spoken to Raheem, Vincent Kompany was still there after everyone else had left and I had a very brief chat with him.
“I remember really well that Vicky said two things to me after that. The first was that Vincent was the nicest bloke you’ll ever meet and the second was that he’s just got an aura about him and leads by example.”
Read Mark’s big read in full here
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