Any chance David can slay Pep’s Goliath?

ONE of this weekend’s FA Cup semifinals is a true David versus Goliath encounter while the other features two sides looking to end decades of cup frustration.

Brighton and Manchester City kick off the action tomorrow (6.30pm SA time), with Watford and Wolves squaring off on Sunday (5pm). Both games will be played at Wembley Stadium, which will also host the final on May 18.

Brighton face long odds against a City side on an unprecedented quest for four trophies this season.

City already have one piece of silverware – the League Cup – while also topping the Premier League table and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

Brighton are in the semis for just the second time, winning their previous appearance in 1983, and are battling the threat of Premier League relegation.

The Seagulls almost didn’t make it this far.

They seemed headed for a quarter-final exit at Millwall before equalising with two late goals and then winning a penalty shootout.

A date with City was their reward and they prepared for it in the worst possible way, a 3-0 loss at Chelsea on Wednesday in which they had just one shot on target.

“We were disappointed in our offensive play... we needed to do better,” manager Chris Hughton said.

“We’ll put this one behind us, and there’s another massive challenge for us on Saturday.”

City boss Pep Guardiola has constantly downplayed his team’s quadruple chances, telling them to focus only on the next game.

“I said many times, ask me at the end of April,” he told reporters earlier this week.

The other semi-final pits two clubs against each other who last tasted success at this stage long ago.

Wolves made the last of their 14 semi-final appearances in 1998, with their most recent FA triumph coming way back in 1960. They enter on a high after beating Manchester United midweek in a repeat of their FA Cup quarter-final triumph.

Watford, meanwhile, have lost all four of their appearances at this stage since their only semi-final victory in 1984.