B
"Everton" versus "Manchester United"
Match time and location: April 23 at 19:15 at the "Wembley" stadium in London;
Referee: Anthony Taylor;
Head-to-head history: "Manchester United" won 84 matches, "Everton" proved their advantage 69 times, and 41 matches ended in a draw;
Teams' form: "Manchester United" (4 wins, 1 loss), "Everton" (3 draws, 2 losses);
Path to the semifinals:
"Everton":
2-0 (at home) against "Dag & Red FC"
3-0 (away) against "Carlisle United"
2-0 (away) against "Bournemouth"
2-0 (at home) against "Chelsea"
"Manchester United":
1-0 (at home) against "Sheffield United"
3-1 (away) against "Derby"
3-0 (away) against "Shrewsbury Town"
1-1 (at home) and 2-1 (away) against "West Ham United"
Teams' news:
"Everton":
The "Toffees" have few reasons to be happy lately. The team has not won any of its last Premier League matches, and on Wednesday they even lost 0-4 in the city derby against "Liverpool". The FA Cup remains the only tournament that can brighten up the club's poor season.
Everton has many problems in defense. Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman have been out for a long time, and Ramiro Funes Mori, who received a red card in the Premier League, will have to miss the match due to suspension. Moreover, another defender, John Stones, has also been injured, but it is expected that he will recover in time for Saturday's match. It is also unclear if Gareth Barry will be able to make it to the field.
"Manchester United":
United has been showing more stable results lately, but in order to finish the season with a title, they will have to fight for it in the FA Cup. Louis van Gaal has mentioned several times that a victory in this cup is really important for the club, so there is no doubt that the "Red Devils" will do everything to reach the final of this competition.
There are no new injuries in the United squad, and Chris Smalling will be able to play despite suffering a minor injury on Wednesday. Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger will not be available for United.
Key facts ahead of this match:
This is the third FA Cup semifinal between these teams. The first one in 1966 was won by "Everton" 1-0, and the second, which took place in 2009, ended in a 0-0 draw, with "Everton" players triumphing after a penalty shootout;
In total, these teams have faced each other 11 times in the cup, with "Everton" winning 6 matches and "Manchester United" winning 5;
Manchester United has won three out of the last four matches against Everton. Two of them were achieved this season, without allowing the opponents to score a goal;
The "Toffees" have reached the FA Cup semifinals for the 26th time, second only to "Manchester United" and "Arsenal" (both 28 times). Everton has reached the final 13 times;
Everton has won all four FA Cup matches this season and has scored 9 goals without conceding any;
Romelu Lukaku scored in the last five of his FA Cup matches for Everton;
Everton has reached the final six out of the last seven times they reached the semifinals stage. The only exception was in 2012 when they lost 1-2 to Liverpool;
Out of the 27 previous semifinal matches, United have reached the final 18 times. The last time they did it was in 2007;
The "Red Devils" have not won the last two FA Cup semifinals - in 2009 against Everton and in 2011 against Manchester City. Before that, they had won 13 consecutive semifinal victories, without stumbling at that hurdle from 1976 to 2007;
Manchester United has won only 4 out of the last 14 matches at Wembley stadium;
The last time Manchester United celebrated victory in the FA Cup at Wembley was in 1999 when they defeated Newcastle United;
Manchester United has won five out of the last six matches in England.
