Jonty’s picks

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both in a good position to qualify for next year’s Uefa Champions League, but their remaining hope of silverware lies in the FA Cup, as the two meet in today’s first semifinal at Wembley Stadium.

An FA Cup semifinal is traditionally played at a neutral venue, but Spurs have a bit of an advantage this time around, as they are using Wembley as their home ground while their traditional fortress at White Hart Lane is being redeveloped.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side come into this game on the back of a couple of disappointing results, a defeat at home to Manchester City (their first loss in the league this year) followed by a midweek draw at Brighton. United, meanwhile, recovered from an awful home defeat to West Brom last weekend, that handed City the title, by winning at Bournemouth in midweek.

Tottenham beat United 2-0 in a league game at Wembley on January 31, while United won the first league encounter of this season 1-0 at Old Trafford.

It promises to be a cracking encounter, and I can see it going to extra time, so I would put my money on a draw for this one. Pool Name - S6 V1 P1 M1: West Brom v Liverpool. An away day for the in-form Reds. TIP: Liverpool win = 3

M2: Watford v Crystal Palace. Palace finding a way to survive again. TIP: Palace win = 3 M3: Celta de Vigo v Valencia. Spoils shared. TIP: Draw M4: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur. Previewed

above. TIP: Draw M5: Kaizer Chiefs v Free State Stars. A Stars surprise.

TIP: Stars win = 3 M6: Sevilla v Barcelona. Barca to lift the cup. TIP: Barcelona win = 3

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