The FA Cup semi-finals get underway this weekend, with a Manchester derby in the showpiece in early June the most enticing potential outcome.
On Saturday evening, Manchester City will face Sheffield United (with Irishmen John Egan and Ciaran Clark likely to make the matchday squad for the Blades), while their city rivals Manchester United are in action against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Though a matchup of Brighton and Sheffield United would be equally intriguing as a matchup in the showpiece of the English domestic cup season, a Manchester derby is hard to look past.
And, if the FA Cup final does ultimately bring the Manchester rivals together, it could be on United to stop City from replicating their most famed achievement.
FA Cup: Manchester City's charge to the treble continues apace
With Arsenal faltering in the league, Manchester City are once again in control of their own destiny in the title race. Their precise demolition of Bayern Munich in the Champions League now leaves them as the strongest team left in the competition, with only Real Madrid likely to be a match for Pep Guardiola's super team.
Which would leave Manchester City on the verge of replicating a feat only achieved once before in English football history - the elusive treble.
Others have come close - City themselves won the league and both domestic cups in 2018-19, only to falter in the Champions League; while Liverpool's league and European Cup double in 1976-77 was coupled with an FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
Indeed, it was United themselves who went on to claim a famous treble in 1999 - and it could be them who stand between their fiercest rivals and the trio of trophies come June's FA Cup final.
There are, curiously, some similarities between United's 1999 run and that of City this year.
Perhaps the most impressive element of that 1999 season was the calibre of teams Manchester United had to dispatch in each competition they won. Up against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in the league, they were also drawn against Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the group stages of the Champions League, before having to deal with the might of Inter and Juventus en route to a final rematch with Bayern.
In the FA Cup, Alex Ferguson's United hosted Liverpool in the fourth round, before a replay brought them to Stamford Bridge in the sixth. An infamous semi-final match up against Arsenal would again go to a replay, before they faced Alan Shearer and Newcastle in the final in Wembley. They faced second and third in the league, as well as their oldest rivals, and the most prolific striker in Premier League history. No easy feat.
Meanwhile, turning our eye back to the modern day, City's run to the final has been similarly challenging. The third round saw them face Chelsea (before their form took an even worse plummet mid-season), and they then had to face league leaders Arsenal in the fourth round.
Their other three games have admittedly seen them drawn against Championship opposition, but the final (should they reach it) will see them face either Manchester United, or Champions League-chasing Brighton. A final against United would see them match the 1999 run of playing both second and third in the Premier League table during their FA Cup run, while a matchup against Brighton would not be much less of a challenge for the seemingly unstoppable City.
Given that City have also had to face Bayern Munich and now Real Madrid in the Champions League, there are some unusual similarities between the two seasons - with the FA Cup being the most obvious example.
Manchester City face Sheffield United on Saturday at 16:45, with the Championship side facing a daunting afternoon at Wembley. Though the Blades look set to return to the Premier League next season, they are facing the most in-form and star-studded team in Europe, with the frankly terrifying Erling Haaland up front. They have our very own John Egan to call on at the heart of defence, but Haaland has had no issue getting past even the very best defences in Europe this season. Hard to see past City there.
An assessment will be made “tomorrow morning” on the injury situation of Evan Ferguson and Joël Veltman, confirms Roberto De Zerbi. 🚨#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/qyMPwxds9B
— Seagulls Central (@SeagullsCentral) April 21, 2023
Meanwhile, Sunday evening's game sees an inconsistent Manchester United face a high-flying Brighton and Hove Albion (16:30). Ireland's Evan Ferguson has not been ruled out of contention to feature on Sunday by manager Roberto de Zerbi, despite recent injury issues. With United's defence faltering in recent weeks - most spectacularly on Thursday night in Seville - the prospect of Ferguson returning to the Brighton team will have Erik Ten Hag sweating.
United will go in to the game as favourites, but their form in recent weeks will not fill their fans with confidence, after comfortable defeats to both Newcastle and Sevilla in recent weeks saw their top four hopes take a hit and their Europa League aspirations brought to a halt.
A Manchester derby in the FA Cup final for the first time ever? It's certainly a mouthwatering prospect and, if City can finish off Arsenal in the league and progress past Real Madrid in Europe, it could be United that stand between them and a superb treble.
SEE ALSO: Analysis: Manchester United's Achilles Heel Brutally Exposed Again During Sevilla Shambles
