Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are one step away from the FA Cup Final.
Wolves last won the tournament in 1960, while Watford’s last cup triumph was far more recent in 1984. An FA Cup semi-final doesn’t come along often for the two clubs and they will be desperate to reach the final.
Waiting for them will either be Manchester City or Brighton. Their semi-final match will take place on Saturday, nearly 24 hours before Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers kick off.
Wolverhampton go into the semi-final having defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the league in midweek. It was the second time in a month that Wolves downed the Red Devils. Previously, Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Manchester United in the FA Cup quarterfinals.
Watford also picked up a midweek win by thrashing Fulham, 4-1. In the FA Cup, Watford most recently defeated Premier League rivals Crystal Palace in the quarterfinals to reach Wembley’s final four.
Despite their win over Fulham, Watford are sweating the fitness of influential midfielder Roberto Pereyra. The midfielder limped off against Fulham and will be assessed ahead of the game on Sunday. Pereyra’s loss would be massive for Watford thanks to the player’s goalscoring and creative abilities. Pereyra has tallied six goals this term in all competitions.
Watford’s loss would be Wolverhampton Wanderers gain. The old gold and black have been solid defensively allowing 39 goals in the league. Wolves don’t score a lot of goals, but make the best of their scoring chances. They have tallied just 40 goals in the Premier League.
The last time Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers met; the former came away with a 2-0 win. Both sides will go into the fixture wanting achieve victory and the semi-final should be incredibly cagey. Emotions will be high and whichever side can control their emotions and limit mistakes will progress.
The teams sit seventh and eighth in the Premier League and they represent the best of the rest in the competition. Even without winning the FA Cup, either side could still make the Europa League through their league position. They would have to finish seventh and Manchester City must win the FA Cup for that to happen.
Unlike the other FA Cup semi-final in which Manchester City are far superior to Brighton, these teams are far more evenly matched. Their result from October should be thrown out the window as anything can happen in the FA Cup.
Fans should expect a low-scoring match with both teams being conservative. The 90 minutes will elapse with nothing to separate them. It will take extra-time to sort out which team progresses to the final.