Three of the best FA Cup semi-finals, featuring Man Utd & Liverpool
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Will this weekend’s ties serve up a thriller?
The Premier League title might be wrapped up but it’s all to play for in the FA Cup this weekend.
The semi-finals see Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday before Chelsea take on Southampton on Sunday.
United, Tottenham and Chelsea will all be determined to end the season with silverware. And relegation-threatened Southampton are a 14/1 shot to cause a huge upset.
Ahead of this weekend’s games, the Coral News Team have looked back at three of the best semi-finals…
Crystal Palace v Liverpool (1990)
Liverpool had crushed Palace 9-0 in the league during 1989-90. Few expected anything other than a comfortable win for the champions-elect when they met at Villa Park.
A straight-forward Liverpool victory looked on the cards when Ian Rush put the Reds 1-0 up after 14 minutes. But goals from Mark Bright and Gary O’Reilly gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead, only for Liverpool to hit back through Steve Barnes and Steve McMahon.
With Liverpool winning 3-2, Andy Gray equalised late on to take the game to extra time. Alan Pardew then got the winner
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal (1991)
Arsenal were clear favourites heading into this North London derby, the first semi-final to be held at Wembley.
The Gunners were eight points clear at the top of the table and set to win the title. But they couldn’t handle Paul Gascoigne in this form.
Gazza wasn’t even fully fit, but he scored a stunning free-kick from 30-yards to open the scoring. He was heavily involved in the move that lead to Spurs’ second goal, as his team ran out 3-1 winners.
Arsenal v Manchester United (1999)
An absorbing semi-final saw great goals from David Beckham and Dennis Bergkamp, as well as a red card for Roy Keane. Then in injury-time, Phil Neville brought down Ray Parlour to give Arsenal a penalty.
If Dennis Bergkamp had scored, it may well have altered the course of English football history.
Peter Schmeichel saved the spot-kick, taking the game to extra-time. Ryan Giggs then scored one of the all-time great FA Cup goals, beating four Arsenal players before smashing home.
United went on to lift the FA Cup, finish a point ahead of Arsenal to claim the title, and they completed an unforgettable comeback in the Champions League final to seal a historic treble.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
