Last-gasp chance for silverware
Man United, Spurs have all to play for in FA Cup semifinal at Wembley
MANCHESTER United and Tottenham Hotspur can both claim to have had seasons of progress in the Premier League but the FA Cup, in which they meet in tomorrow’s semifinal, remains their only chance of ending the campaign with silverware.
The sides meet at the Wembley Stadium, which is nominally a neutral venue even if Spurs have been playing all their home games at the national stadium this season.
At the start of the season some questioned whether Spurs would ever feel at home at Wembley, but with nearly a full campaign under their belt, defender Jan Vertonghen said Spurs were certainly at ease in the arena.
“Wembley is definitely not a disadvantage,” the Belgian said.
“We’re used to it now, even if the atmosphere will be a bit different because United will bring more supporters than usual. “We feel very comfortable at Wembley. “We’ve shown that over the last couple of months. Hopefully we can have the same game as at the beginning of this year when we beat United in a very positive way,” Vertonghen said, referring to the 2-0 Premier League win in January.
Although Spurs have continued to play entertaining football and improve under Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino, they have yet to win a trophy in his time at the club, but Vertonghen said an FA Cup triumph could be a launch-pad for more success.
“This team and club deserves a trophy for all the work we’ve put in and we hope Saturday can be the next step.”
United bounced back from Sunday’s shock 1-0 home Premier League defeat by bottom club West Bromwich Albion with a convincing 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Wednesday to consolidate second place in the table.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace may have moved to six points above the Premier League relegation zone, but tomorrow’s visit to Vicarage Road to face Watford could be crucial to Roy Hodgson’s side’s survival hopes.
While the Hornets are in a relatively comfortable 12th place, they are only three points above Palace and are smarting from a stoppage-time defeat at Huddersfield last week.
Palace have a relatively easy run-in with a trips to Leicester City and Stoke City before a final day home fixture with bottom club West Bromwich Albion.
West Brom, who upset Manchester United at Old Trafford last week, have another tough test when they face Liverpool tomorrow.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League meetings with West Brom although they were held to a goalless draw at Anfield this season.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah is only one goal away from equalling the record for the most goals scored in a 38-match season, jointly held by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez with 31.
Sunday sees West Ham United facing an Arsenal team that may have their focus on next week’s Europa League semifinal first leg with Atletico Madrid.
Champions Manchester City host Swansea City while seventh-placed Burnley hope to continue their push to Europa League qualification at struggling Stoke City. – Reuters