Man U face tough assignment

Man U face tough assignment

The two FA Cup semi-final clashes tomorrow and Sunday respectively form part of TAB’s premier Soccer 10 pools which have been boosted by R250,000 each and which are expected to reach R2,5-million, offering bettors the perfect opportunity to score big.

A Manchester derby in the FA Cup final on 3 June might be a fitting finale to another absorbing English season but both City and United must come through the semi-finals at Wembley this weekend in order to secure that fixture.

It should not be too much bother for City, who are up against Sheffield United from one division lower tomorrow but a little tougher for United who take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

The Blades, as Sheffield United are called, have been in top form this season, consistently behind Burnley in the promotion race, and are edging closer to a return to the Premier League, filling the other of the two automatic promotion spots.

But there is still much of a gulf between the leagues and Pep Guardiola’s side are expected to stroll through this one comfortably.

Brighton lost Graham Potter as a manger not long after the season started but have kicked on under the emotive Italian Robert de Zerbi.

His approach is unconventional, but Guardiola predicted he would shake up English football and that has indeed been the case.

Brighton play out from their goalkeeper Robert Sánchez and will often continue patiently recycling the ball in their own danger zone, often for up to 10 or 15 passes. It is why they frequently enjoy more than 70% possession. But it is also the very thing modern football convention warns you not to do. The idea is to provoke opponents into overstretching, committing one too many to the press, at which point Brighton neatly play their way out and wreak havoc in the open spaces. Done right, it is a tactic that turns the doctrine of high pressing – elite football’s dominant motif of the past 10 years – in on itself. Never was this more evident than in the two wins over Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool this year, when Brighton frequently invited Liverpool’s press, toyed with them, moved them around, before decisively cutting them open.

It is a fate that could also befall Erik ten Hag’s team on Sunday as Brighton look to return to the FA Cup final for the first time since their only previous appearance in 1993, when they lost to Manchester United and their South African goalkeeper Gary Bailey.

Tomorrow also sees Mamelodi Sundowns continue to fly the flag for South Africa in the African Champions League, where they play away in Algeria in the first leg of their quarter-final tie against Chabab Belouizdad. There will be much concern over Sundowns’ form as they have struggled over the last fortnight.