No teams from the south in cup semis

All the attention will be on the semi-finals of the FA Cup this weekend.

For the first time in over 21 years, the south of England will not be represented in the last four of the competition as Manchester United face neighbours Manchester City this evening while Bolton take on Stoke City tomorrow.

The last time one of the FA Cup semi-finals was a ‘local derby’ was in 2009 when Arsenal went down to Chelsea 2-1.

Stoke City will appear in their third FA Cup semi-final. They will be hoping to break their duck and overcome Bolton to reach the final for the first time in their history.

Stoke’s semi-final appearances:

1899 vs Derby 0-1 at Molineux.

1971 vs Arsenal 2-2 (at Hillsborough) and lost the replay at Villa Park 0-2.

1972 vs Arsenal 1-1 (at Villa Park), lost the replay at Goodison Park 1-2.

The last time Bolton won the FA Cup was in 1958, 2-0 against Manchester United, who were involved in the horrific crash in Munich in that particular season.

On their part, Manchester City last won the FA Cup in 1969 when they beat Leicester City 1-0 in the final.

It is indeed a rarity, as facts here denote, that no team from the south succeeded in reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup this year.

The last time that this happened was back in 1989 when the Hillsborough disaster took place. The clubs that afternoon were Everton, Liverpool, Norwich City and Nottingham Forest.

The southern representatives since then were:

2010 − Chelsea, Portsmouth.
2009 − Arsenal, Chelsea.
2008 − Portsmouth.
2007 − Chelsea.
2006 − Chelsea, West Ham.
2005 − Arsenal.
2004 − Arsenal, Millwall.
2003 − Arsenal, Southampton.
2002 − Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham.
2001 − Arsenal, Tottenham.
2000 − Chelsea.
1999 − Arsenal, Tottenham.
1998 − Arsenal.
1997 − Chelsea, Wimbledon.
1996 − Chelsea.
1995 − Crystal Palace, Tottenham.
1994 − Chelsea.
1993 − Arsenal, Tottenham.
1992 − Portsmouth.
1991 − Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham.
1990 − Crystal Palace.

Manchester United are the only side left in the competition that have yet to be involved in a replay this season. City, on their part, had to play two replays on their way to the semi-finals.

Manchester United conceded only one goal in the process as the Manchester City scored a staggering 16 goals.

Bolton Wanderers: York (home) 2-0; Wigan (home) 0-0 (away) 1-0; Fulham (away) 1-0; Birmingham (away) 3-2.

Manchester City: Leicester (away) 2-2 (home) 4-2; Notts County (away) 1-1 (home) 5-0; Aston Villa (home) 3-0; Reading (home) 1-0.

Manchester United: Liverpool (home) 1-0; Southampton (away) 2-1; Crawley Town (home) 1-0; Arsenal (home) 2-0.

Stoke City: Cardiff (home) 1-1 (away) 2-0; Wolves (away) 1-0; Brighton (home) 3-0; West Ham (home) 2-1.

As happened in the last two seasons, the FA Cup semi-finals will be played at Wembley Stadium, where United lifted the Community Shield against Chelsea 3-1 last August.

The last time the Red Devils played in the FA Cup final was four years ago, losing to Chelsea 1-0.

Premier League meetings this season: (November 12) City-United 0-0; (February 12) United-City 2-1 (Nani, Rooney − Silva).

Manchester United, who will be without the suspended Wayne Rooney, are the only English team left in the Champions League after they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford on Tuesday to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.

The Citizens, soundly beaten 3-0 by Liverpool on Monday, will be glad to hear that goalkeeper Paul Hart is ready to sign at Eastlands for life.

Today, City will be without striker Carlos Tevez who picked up a hamstring injury at Anfield this week.

Owen Coyle, of Bolton, and Tony Pulis, of Stoke, really deserve to figure in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in recognition of their excellent work this season.

Both managers have shown huge determination in taking their teams on a positive run in the competition which could yield them a place in the Europa League next season.

Each side won their home commitment in the Premier League this season: (October 15) Bolton-Stoke 2-1 (Lee, Klasnic − Delap); (January 15) Stoke-Bolton 2-0 (Higginbotham, Etherington).

Pulis hinted that Andy Wilkinson could start at right-back against Bolton after his fine display against Tottenham.

Bolton’s on-loan striker Daniel Sturridge is ineligible for the semi-final as he played for Chelsea earlier in the competition. Yet, Coyle is convinced his side could still cope with the loss of the 21-year-old, who had scored six goals in eight games.

Fixtures and forecast

Premier League

Birmingham-Sunderland - X
Blackpool-Wigan Athletic - X
Everton-Blackburn Rovers - 1
West Brom-Chelsea - 2
West Ham-Aston Villa - 1

Tomorrow:
Arsenal-Liverpool (17:00) - X

Standings: Manchester United 69; Arsenal 62; Chelsea 58; Manchester City 56; Tottenham 53; Liverpool 48; Everton 44; Bolton 43; Newcastle, West Brom 39; Fulham, Stoke City, Sunderland 38; Aston Villa 37; Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham 35; Blackpool 33; West Ham, Wolves 32; Wigan 31.

Fa Cup Semi-Finals
Man. City-Man. United (18:15) - 2

Tomorrow:
Bolton-Stoke City (17:00) - X

The Championship
Bristol City-Ipswich - X
Burnley-Swansea - X
Cardiff-Portsmouth - 1
Coventry-Millwall - X
Crystal Palace-Scunthorpe - 1
Hull-Doncaster - 1
Leeds-Watford - 1
Middlesbrough-Barnsley - 1
Preston-Sheffield Utd - X
Reading-Leicester - 1

Monday:
QPR-Derby (20:45) - 1

League One
Carlisle-Colchester - 1
Charlton-Huddersfield - 2
Exeter-Leyton Orient - 1
N. County-Bournemouth (13:30) - X
Peterborough-Plymouth - 1
Rochdale-Brentford - 1
Sheff. Wed.-Hartlepool - 1
Southampton-Bristol Rovers - 1
Swindon-MK Dons - X
Tranmere-Dagenham - 1
Walsall-Brighton - 2
Yeovil-Oldham - 1

League Two
Accrington-Oxford Utd - 1
Burton Albion-Cheltenham - 1
Bury-Barnet - X
Chesterfield-Macclesfield - 1
Crewe-Lincoln City - 1
Gillingham-Morecambe - 1
Rotherham-Hereford - 1
Shrewsbury-Stockport - 1
Stevenage-Aldershot - 1
Torquay-Port Vale - X
Wycombe-Northampton - 1

Hot Four

Crystal Palace
Leeds United
Peterborough
Shrewsbury