Liverpool, Man City face defining moment in FA Cup clash

[FILE] Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (C) shakes hands with Liverpool’s Senegalese striker Sadio Mane after the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 10, 2022. – The match ended 2-2. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Liverpool will put their unprecedented quadruple bid on the line against treble-chasing Manchester City on Saturday in an FA Cup semi-final that will make or break one club’s dream of football immortality.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are in contention to become the first English team to win all four major trophies in one season.

They lifted the League Cup in February and advanced to the last four of the Champions League after surviving a late scare in their quarter-final second leg against Benfica on Wednesday.

With Liverpool expected to see off Spanish side Villarreal in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition, it is Premier League leaders City who will provide the major obstacle to their ambitions.

City are just one point ahead of their title rivals in the Premier League with seven games left after last weekend’s 2-2 draw.

Pep Guardiola’s team are also in the hunt for the Champions League crown and could face Liverpool in the final if they beat Real Madrid in the semis.

City have a rare feat of their own to aim for as they seek to become only the second English side to win the prized treble of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

The grand goals of both City and Liverpool mean the stakes could not be higher when they clash for the second time within a week, this time at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final.

One team will leave the national stadium on a high, the other having to