FA Cup: Manchester United eye FA Cup solace

Manchester United face Everton in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. (Photo: AP)

Chasing a gilded finale to a difficult season, Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United face an Everton team reeling from Merseyside derby humiliation in Saturday’s first FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

van Gaal found himself back in the media’s crosshairs following a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, but not for the first time this season, his side responded with a timely burst of wins.

Victory at West Ham United in their FA Cup quarter-final replay provided the spur for back-to-back league wins over Aston Villa and Crystal Palace that have bolstered United’s quest for Champions League qualification and they will travel to London with renewed confidence.

A long, dark English winter is threatening to burst into a far more pleasant spring for Van Gaal, who is seeking to steer United to a first FA Cup final since they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in 2007.

Uncertainty surrounding the Dutchman’s Old Trafford future continues to swirl, with Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino continually touted as potential successors in the British press.

But success in the FA Cup, which United last lifted in 2004, allied to a top-four finish in the Premier League would strengthen van Gaal’s hand greatly as he approaches the final year of his three-year contract.

Furthermore, United’s line-up in recent weeks has demonstrated the commitment to youth that helped van Gaal land the job in the first place.

A run of seven games without victory in the league has definitively ended Everton’s European ambitions and Wednesday’s 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool left the Spaniard looking exposed.

Everton’s task has been complicated by the fact that centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori will be suspended after being sent off at Anfield for an ugly ankle-high challenge on Divock Origi.

With captain Phil Jagielka and John Stones both doubtful, due to a hamstring injury and illness respectively, it could leave Martinez with a crisis in central defence.