We have some interesting battles ahead of us.
Burnley Vincent Kompany to visit Etihad
A warm welcome is expected in Manchester this weekend for the former City defender who is now guiding Burnley to league titles and taking the team to the current Cup stage. The mentor of the Clarets is highly respected among the citizens, he has been the undisputed leader of the club for more than ten years. A statue of Vincent is installed next to the Etihad, which already says a lot.
From the moment he left City, Kompany moved into management work and quickly found success in this field. After working in his home country at Anderlecht, the Belgian returned to England, but gradually began to rise to the top of Albion football. Upon his appointment as head coach of Burnley, he immediately rebuilt the team’s game. The stereotypical way of the team has disappeared, the fans have forgotten the low defensive block and are now watching a team that plays very beautiful football.
In the current season of the championship, Burnley is overtaking their opponents with an ice rink, leading the table with a clear advantage, and entry into the Premier League at the end of spring seems to be just a formality. The gap from third place is 19 points.
Naturally, the style of the Kompany team was influenced by Pep Guardiola. It was his football vision that was realized by the Belgian at Turf Mur. Vincent built a high-quality game in a high block and oncoming pressure, and a false defender and reconstruction in three defenders and two defensive midfielders during the attack completely copy the results of the Catalan.
The Citizens will no doubt accept the Clarets as favorites and are unlikely to play carelessly as they are only 4 games away from the trophy if any of them are victorious. In the event City are knocked out of the cup, they are at risk of running out of trophies this season. The position in the Premier League depends on the stability of London’s Arsenal, and the draw for the 1/4 of the Champions League can hardly be called a success, given that another favorite of the European Cup – Bayern Munich – awaits them.
Sheffield United and Blackburn are fighting each other not only for access to the Premier League, but also to the Cup semi-finals
Both teams are in contention for promotion to the top flight in England. Sheffield United are second in the league, 13 points behind Burnley but six points ahead of third-placed Middlesbrough. The Blades are in a relatively safe situation and need not worry about their position unless there is some force majeure.
The same cannot be said for Blackburn, who are in the thick of things: from third to sixth place are just 4 points, and in such a situation every result has a special meaning. For this reason, the team could be more burdened by concerns regarding the classification, which could give the Blades an added advantage.
Brighton scored a good move and footed into the semi-final before kick-off
The Seagulls continue to show high-quality football under Roberto De Zerbi and retain their chances of entering European competition at the end of the current season. In addition, they are perfectly capable of making it to the Wembley final, as they will face a team that is in the fourth strongest league in England and occupies 15th place.
Given the form achieved by Brighton midfield trio Mitoma, McAllister and March, the result is obvious. It’s worth noting that the Seagulls are one of the few Premier League sides yet to win a major English or European trophy, so they have extra stimulus this cup season.
Erik ten Hag could do a mini treble (Mickey treble) in his first season
In the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, London Fulham will face the Mancunians, and the Red Devils are approaching this match with high spirits. The team made it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, placed third and are waiting for misfires from Arsenal and City to enter the title race. All this on top of the fact that the team has already won the League Cup.
In the event that Manchester manage to win the domestic cups and the Europa League, they will repeat Liverpool’s achievement in the 00/01 season when Merseyside did the same. After that campaign, victories in all of these tournaments were jokingly referred to as the Mickey Mouse Treble. The funniest thing is that it was the Mancunian fans who called him that to belittle the significance of the trophies won by their main competitor.
It is worth noting that United have never won both domestic cups in the same season. Previously, only four teams had achieved this: Arsenal (92/93), Chelsea (06/07), Manchester City (18/19) and Liverpool twice (00/01 & 21/22).
Manchester United are approaching the match with Fulham as the obvious favorites, but sensations shouldn’t be ruled out either. The Cottagers have proved hugely successful since their return to England’s elite and have been top of the table all season. The main reason for the success of the Londoners is Andreas Pereira who moved in the summer transfer window. The Brazilian is among the best playmakers in the Premier League in terms of key passing and ball propulsion.
The teams have met before this season and then Manchester United won, beating Fulham 2-1. In addition, they will have to close the season with a face-off in the 38th round. It is possible that that duel will be decisive for the classification of both teams.
