AFP – Manchester City face Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals aiming to keep alive their last chance of silverware in a turbulent season. City are the last of the Premier League’s big guns still standing as Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Brighton headline the FA Cup’s year of the underdog.
AFP Sport looks at the key storylines ahead of the weekend’s action:
In danger of enduring their first season without a major trophy since 2016-17, Manchester City will head to Bournemouth with some trepidation after losing at the Vitality Stadium earlier this term.
When Pep Guardiola’s men were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth in the Premier League in November, it was the first time in their history that City had lost to the Cherries.
The shock loss foreshadowed City’s astonishing decline as they won just one of their next 11 games in all competitions.
After six English titles in the past seven seasons, City – languishing in fifth place in the Premier League – have been reduced to battling to qualify for next season’s Champions League and avoiding their first campaign without silverware since Guardiola’s maiden year at the Etihad Stadium.
A defeat at Nottingham Forest and a draw with Brighton in their last two games serve as a reminder that Guardiola is yet to solve the litany of issues that have plagued City this season.
Suffering more misery at Bournemouth – who have never reached the FA Cup semi-finals – would be another ignominious moment in a brutal season for Guardiola.
Meanwhile, Fulham will host Crystal Palace today. The west London club haven’t reached the FA Cup final for 50 years – when they lost their only appearance in the showpiece to West Ham – and their last semi-final berth came back in 2002.
Marco Silva’s men beat holders Manchester United on penalties in the fifth round, but they suffered a 2-0 home defeat against Palace in the league in February.
Including that victory, Oliver Glasner’s team are on an impressive run of five successive away wins in all competitions and have kept six consecutive clean sheets on the road.
Palace, who have never won the FA Cup, could welcome back Jean-Philippe Mateta after the French striker trained this week following the ugly challenge from Millwall keeper Liam Roberts that left him with 25 stitches around his ear.
