FA Cup semifinal draw sets up potential Liverpool vs. Arsenal final

Everyone loves the magic of the Cup. Unless they’re beating your team, everyone wants the likes of Bradford City to knock off some big teams and make a deep run, to, say, the semifinals.

But if we’re being honest, that’s where we want it to stop, right? It’s cool if Bradford beats Reading and gets their trip to Wembley, but we’d all like a properly big final to enjoy, and the FA Cup semifinal draw has given us that possibility. The winner of the replay between Bradford and Reading will game on Arsenal, while Aston Villa face off against the winner of the replay between Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers.

Laughing at Arsenal or Liverpool for losing to anyone but each other will be entertaining for rival fans until they realize they have to watch a cup final between Bradford and Villa. Do you really want to watch that? No, you don’t. You’d much rather watch Arsenal and Liverpool in a classic between two huge teams. Don’t lie to yourself.

The home sides aren’t particularly relevant because the semifinals are played at Wembley Stadium. They’ll be played back-to-back, on April 18 and 19. As usual, the pitch will be garbage for the second game and everyone will be rightfully upset about it.

Draw