England FA Cup - Quarterfinals

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Manchester City vs Newcastle United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City:
Ortega; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bobb, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland

Newcastle United:
Dubravka; Livramento, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Almiron

Manchester City will welcome fellow Premier League side Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup quarterfinal. The Citizens are the current winners of the competition and I am sure Guardiola will play with the strongest eleven. Newcastle United are in different position, this is their only chance for silverware this season. Manager Edie Howe will definitely take this match seriously as it is the Magpies' last chance for European football the next season. Interesting, this will be the fourth competitive match between Manchester City and Newcastle this season. The Citizens have registered two victories, both in the Premier League, but lost the EFL Cup fixture in September. It is clear Man City are favorites, but it is also clear the Magpies are able to upset the hosts.

Man City have won their three FA Cup ties by an aggregate score of 12-2. Some of the opponents were low-division teams, like Huddersfield, but the victories against Lutton Town and Tottenham have to be respected. City are six-time winners and this fact should not be underestimated. The actual form is good, they also secured a Champions League quarterfinal. Today they found out their opponents in the quarterfinals - Real Madrid, possibly the most difficult rivals. However, Manchester City are in good form. They managed to stay unbeaten at Anfield last week. John Stones put his team into a deserved first-half lead, but Liverpool equalized early in the second half with a Mac Allister penalty, after goalkeeper Ederson fouled Darwin Nunez in the box. The Brazilian goalkeeper suffered an injury during the foul and was replaced by Stefan Ortega, who would probably continue to deputize. Jack Grealish remains sidelined with a groin injury. Their absences shouldn't be a big problem as Guardiola has two good players for every position.

This season is nowhere-near the last, when Newcastle secured a Champions League spot. Most probably they will not play in Europe next season, except if they win the FA Cup. But winning at Etihad isn't simple, I don't remember when the last time Guardiola's side lost at home. To be worse, the Magpies are in poor form. They have two wins and two defeats on the last four matches. On Monday they suffered a 3:2 defeat to Chelsea. Howe also has some injury concerns. Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn, who were both forced off with injuries against Chelsea on Monday, are rated as doubtful. Howe is hopeful the duo will recover in time, but Valentino Livramento or Matt Targett could deputize at left-back, while Gordon will likely be replaced by Murphy. Harvey Barnes is sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson and Joelinton are unavailable due to injury. Joe White is cup-tied and Sandro Tonali is suspended due to illegal gambling activities.

Manchester City vs Newcastle United Prediction:

I expect an interesting clash between two Premier League sides. Manchester City are huge favorites, even more as they play at home. But Newcastle should not be underestimated, they are able to score. The Magpies lost 3:2 at Stamford Bridge, 4:1 to Arsenal at Emirates, 4:2 at Anfield etc. As You could see, their matches against the Big-6 are high scoring. This one should be efficient too. Even more as City weren't too superior against Liverpool.

Manchester City vs Newcastle United Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.95 with Pinnacle

 

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Manchester United vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Lindelof; Mainoo, Casemiro; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Bradley, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Endo, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

The derby match in the FA Cup quarter-finals will be played at Old Trafford between the 12-time champions Manchester United and eight-time winners Liverpool. The Red Devils have eliminated Nottingham Forest in the previous round thanks to a narrow 1:0 win, while the Reds' youngsters beat 3:0 the Championship side Southampton. It is hard to determine the favorites here and I am sure United players could upset the Reds. Like they did at Anfield three months ago, when played a goalless draw. Or the last mutual game played at Old Trafford, when United won 2:1 (22. August 2022). The Red Devils will enter the match fully motivated and they will "die" on the pitch. The fans will also give a huge support to their players, they hate Liverpool. Erik ten Hag has big injury worries as Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount and Lisandro Martinez are still sidelined, while few more are rated as doubtful: second-choice goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, veteran Jonny Evans, striker Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Omari Forson. I expect some of them to recover in-time for this clash.

Liverpool demolished Sparta Prague in Europa League and secured the quarterfinals. The next opponents are Atalanta. Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Bobby Clark, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Gakpo again were the scorers at Anfield. The players confidence is high and they will try to win at Old Trafford. But Klopp has huge injury issues in the last period. Almost all players were or still are injured. Nine players are out injured at the momet: Ibrahima Konate, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Two players have recovered and one of them, Mohamed Salah - scored against Sparta Prague on Thursday, becoming the first Liverpool player to net 20 goals in seven straight seasons. Ryan Gravenberch, who suffered an injury against Chelsea in Carabao Cup final, is also in the contention for this match.

Manchester United vs Liverpool Prediction:

Liverpool are favorites in this quarterfinal, though the home advantage should not be underestimated. United are yet to lose an FA Cup match to Liverpool at Old Trafford and also came up trumps in the two previous finals between the two clubs in 1977 and 1996. Liverpool's 10 exits to Man United is the most that they have suffered against a single opponent in the FA Cup, but more recent history is not on the United's side. Ten Hag's men could now fail to score in three straight games with Liverpool across all tournaments. It's no secret how they will play - catenaccio and fast counter-attacks. Liverpool were unable to find the back of the net at Anfield, it will be more difficult at Old Trafford. The match could go to extra time, maybe even the penalties will decide about the progress.

Manchester United vs Liverpool Pick: Draw @ 4.23 with Pinnacle