Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers
12.15pm, Saturday 16 April
Referee: S W Dunn
Assistants: R Bone and D S Babski
Fourth Official: M Clattenburg
Live on Sky Sports 1		 Newcastle Utd v Manchester Utd
2.00pm, Sunday 17 April
Referee: M Riley 
Assistants: M Tingey and G B Turner
Fourth Official: B Knight
Live on BBC1

Click here to listen live

Visit www.footballprogrammes.com or www.programmemaster.com to order your official match programmes.

Arsenal Reach Semi-Final Landmarks

Arsenal are appearing in a record 25th FA Cup semi-final this weekend.

The Gunners are one ahead of rivals Manchester United who will be making their 24th appearance at this stage of the competition.

Arsenal are also matching another record this season by becoming only the second club in FA Cup history to reach five successive semi-finals.

The impressive feat has been achieved just once previously by Manchester United when they reached the semis every year from 1962 to 1966.
Ferguson and Wenger in Seventh Semis

Sir Alex Ferguson will walk out for his seventh FA Cup Semi-Final this weekend with a 100 per cent record at this stage of the competition.

Ferguson, United’s manager since November 1986, oversaw Semi-Final victories in 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2004. Ferguson has won The Cup a record five times.

United haven’t lost a Semi-Final since 1970 when Leeds United defeated them in a second replay.

Arsene Wenger has also reached seven FA Cup Semi-Finals in his nine years at Highbury. They were semi-final winners in 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2003 – and losers in 1999 and 2004, both times to Manchester United.

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes won The Cup four times as a player, three times for Manchester United and once for Chelsea.

He scored United’s Semi-Final replay winner against Liverpool in 1985, a last-gasp equaliser in the Semi-Final against Oldham Athletic at Wembley in 1994 (they won the replay at Maine Road) and Chelsea’s third goal in their 3-0 Semi-Final win against Wimbledon in 1997.

If Hughes can go on to win the Cup with Blackburn, he will emulate the feats of the 14 men who have won The Cup as a player and a manager - Peter McWilliam, Billy Walker, Jimmy Seed, Joe Smith, Stan Seymour, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Joe Mercer, Bob Stokoe, Don Revie, Terry Venables, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish and Gianluca Vialli.

Newcastle’s Graeme Souness managed Liverpool to FA Cup success in 1992. Ronnie Moran led the team out at Wembley, with Souness recovering from heart surgery.
Arsenal v Blackburn: Head To Head

Blackburn Rovers have to go back to 1928 for their last FA Cup success.

But on that occasion, it was Arsenal that they defeated in the Semis to reach the Final at Wembley.

Jack Roscamp was the hero in a 1-0 win at Filbert Street. Roscamp went on to notch two in The Final as well.

Arsenal have won The FA Cup nine times. Blackburn have won it six times.

Arsenal were, most recently, winners in 2002 and 2003 while Rovers haven’t been in The Final – or, indeed, a Semi-Final – since 1960.

In five previous meetings in The Cup, Arsenal have a narrow lead with three victories from five matches.

Previous FA Cup meetings:
1901 1st Round Woolwich Arsenal 2 Blackburn Rovers 0
1926 4th Round Arsenal 3 Blackburn Rovers 1
1928 Semi-Final Blackburn Rovers 1 Arsenal 0
1966 3rd Round Blackburn Rovers 3 Arsenal 0
2001 6th Round Arsenal 3 Blackburn Rovers 0
Newcastle v Man Utd: Head To Head

Newcastle United have also had a long wait for FA Cup success.

The Magpies last won The Cup half a century ago. The legendary Jackie Milburn scored the opening goal as they beat Manchester City at Wembley in 1955.

Newcastle have, however, been Finalists twice in recent memory - in 1998 and 1999.

Manchester United have won The FA Cup a record 11 times to Newcastle’s six.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side also have history on their side when it comes to facing Newcastle in The FA Cup with a 100 per cent record against this weekend’s opponents including one recent Semi-Final.

It also includes the 1999 FA Cup Final when goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes secured victory for United.

Previous FA Cup meetings:
1909 Semi-Final Manchester United 1 Newcastle United 0
1990 5th Round Newcastle United 2 Manchester United 3
1999 Final Manchester United 2 Newcastle United 0
Massive Crowds For Millennium Semis

Huge crowds of fans from the four competing clubs are expected at this weekend’s FA Cup Semi-Finals in Cardiff.

The aggregate attendance for the two matches will be significantly higher than in all but one season over the last 10 years.

The only other occasion in the last decade when both matches were played at the same venue allowed more than 130,000 to see the games played at Wembley Stadium in 2000.

With the exception of that season, this weekend’s combined attendance is set to allow more fans to see their teams in action.than at any other time in the last decade.

Aggregate attendances in the last 10 seasons:
2003-04 – 96,051
2002-03 – 99,772
2001-02 – 97,315
2000-01 – 103,578
1999-00 – 136,704
1998-99 – 92,826
1997-98 – 92,824
1996-97 – 82,314
1995-96 – 77,493
1994-95 – 76,482
FA Cup Semi-Finals: Did You Know?
Before this weekend, 42 different venues have been used for FA Cup Semi-Finals. These include a school ground in Edinburgh, a ground on a racecourse in Derby, three cricket grounds, a rugby ground in Huddersfield and, of course, the legendary Wembley Stadium. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is playing host to its first Semi-Finals.
For five seasons from 1969-70 to 1973-74 the losing FA Cup Semi-Finalists played each other in a “Match for Third Place”. In the last of these Burnley beat Leicester City 1-0 before a crowd of just 4,000 at Filbert Street.
The biggest margin of victory in an FA Cup Semi-Final is Newcastle United’s 6-0 win against Fulham at Anfield in 1908. Howie and Rutherford each scored twice. United then lost 3-1 to Wolves in the Final.
Swindon Town, then in the Southern League, were the last non-League club to reach the FA Cup Semi-Finals. In 1912 they lost 0-1 to Barnsley in a replay at Meadow Lane, Nottingham.

Half A Century Since A Semi Hat-Trick

It is almost 50 years since a player scored a hat-trick in an FA Cup Semi-Final.

The last player to achieve the feat was Alex Dawson, for Manchester United against Fulham in a Highbury replay in 1958. United won 5-3 and Dawson was only a month past his 18th birthday.

In the history of The Cup, 11 players have scored three or more goals in a Semi-Final.

The FA Cup Player of the Round Award

TheFA.com is the home of The FA Cup online. It is also the home of the prestigious FA Cup Player of the Round Award, in partnership with UMBRO.

The Team of The FA Cup comprises Player of the Round winners from the First Qualifying Round to the Semi-Final. This season’s winners so far are:

Round 1Q: Kevin Slack (Bishop’s Cleeve)
Round 2Q: Rob Ursell (AFC Wimbledon)
Round 3Q: Scott Partridge (Bath City)
Round 4Q: Craig Midgley (Halifax Town)
Round 1: Alex Haddow (Slough Town)
Round 2: Dean Moxey (Exeter City)
Round 3: Paul Jones (Exeter City)
Round 4: Kevin Gall (Yeovil Town)
Round 5: Kris Commons (Nottingham Forest)
Round 6: Shay Given (Newcastle United)

Fans can vote for their Semi-Final Player of the Round on TheFA.com next week with a chance to win two tickets to The Final on 21 May.