Still aiming to salvage a sorry season with a second FA Cup crown in three years, Manchester City take to the Wembley turf once again for a tantalising semi-final showdown with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
By the time the first whistle blows on April 27, both teams will have learned whether Aston Villa or Crystal Palace will be awaiting the victor in the showpiece event next month.
Match preview
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At the same time as their Premier League title is likely to be ripped out of their grasp - Liverpool need just one point vs. Tottenham Hotspur at 4.30pm on Sunday to wrap up a first-placed finish - the reigning English champions can achieve the noteworthy consolation prize of a third straight FA Cup final.
Only once in Pep Guardiola's nine seasons in charge have the Sky Blues failed to make it to at least the final four, and by ending Bournemouth's dreams of Wembley stardom in the quarter-finals, City made history as the first team to progress to the semis in seven consecutive years.
The billed 'visitors' hold a 50% success rate from their last six appearances at this stage - triumphing in three and losing three - but even without the stricken Erling Haaland loitering around the six-yard box, Guardiola's charges have built up a head of steam in the spring.
The 2-1 quarter-final success over Bournemouth represents one of five wins that the Citizens have picked up in their last six games, prevailing in each of their last three versus Crystal Palace, Everton and most recently Aston Villa, where a last-gasp Matheus Nunes strike saved the day.
With 14 points to show from their last 18 Premier League games, Guardiola's men are well-positioned in the fascinating fight for Champions League football and are a safe bet to score in the FA Cup, netting in each of their last 21 matches in the competition since a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the 2020-21 semis.
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As City chase a third consecutive appearance in an FA Cup final, Nottingham Forest aspire to end a 34-year exile from the showpiece event, last making the championship match in 1991 and going down in extra time to Tottenham Hotspur.
Over three decades later, Nuno Espirito Santo's side - who are very much in the mix for a top-five Premier League finish with Man City too - largely have their penalty prowess to thank for a jaunt to Wembley, prevailing in no fewer than three shootouts on the spin.
After making light work of Luton Town first up, the Tricky Trees prevailed from 12 yards against all of Exeter City, Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion, so Santo's men could be forgiven for playing for penalties during a two-hour semi-final marathon.
Like their upcoming opponents, the Garibaldi also head to the capital on the back of a 2-1 Premier League triumph - Santo got one over former team and crisis club Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night - and the ex-Spurs boss now seeks to emulate one of his most revered compatriots.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho is the only Portuguese to ever reach the FA Cup final - doing so with both Chelsea and Manchester United - and with both City and Forest boasting one Premier League win over the other from this season already, Sunday's semi has all the makings of an absorbing affair.
Team News
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It will largely be as you were on the injury front for Man City.
Haaland (ankle), Rodri (ACL), Nathan Ake (ankle) and John Stones (thigh) are still sidelined, while Oscar Bobb has apparently suffered a setback in his recovery too, and Ederson (groin) is a serious doubt.
Furthermore, James McAtee picked up his second yellow card of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals and is therefore suspended for Sunday's match, a bitter blow for a player who was finally starting to make waves in Guardiola's starting XI.
Jeremy Doku - who set up Nunes's injury-time winner against Villa - should be first in line to replace McAtee, while new left-back hero Nico O'Reilly seeks to build on a stellar record of five goal involvements from four FA Cup games this term, three of his own and two assists.
McAtee is one of three players who will be sitting on the Wembley naughty step this weekend, as Forest duo Ryan Yates and Neco Williams are also banned for yellow-card accumulation after milestone bookings in the quarter-finals.
Williams's absence will be particularly problematic if Ola Aina cannot shake off a calf problem, a scenario that would leave Forest without a recognised right-back, although the latter is fighting tooth and nail to make the cut.
Eric da Silva Moreira (ankle) and Jota Silva (knock) are also out of contention, but neither man should have come into Santo's thinking for a start at Wembley.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Silva, Kovacic, Gundogan; Doku, De Bruyne, Marmoush
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City (a.e.t)
City may have made light work of Forest in December, but Santo's men were full value for their success over Guardiola's crop last month and are well-versed in limiting their opponents' chances thanks to the steadfast Murillo-Nikola Milenkovic pairing.
However, the confidence in the City camp ought to have sky-rocketed in recent weeks, and with Santo also lamenting the absence of two key cogs through suspension, we have faith in the Sky Blues to earn another date with FA Cup destiny, even if they have to call on the cavalry in extra time.
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Ben Knapton
