6 Things We Learned From This Weekend’s EPL and FA Cup Action

So the FA Cup semis are done and dusted, the Premier League title race rumbles on, and the 6 bottom sides faced against one another.

What conclusions can we draw from what we have witnessed this weekend?

Arsenal and Liverpool Are Not Going Away Quietly

Manchester City had cup duties on their hands on Saturday, so the Gunners and the Reds had the chance to overtake them in the Premier League standings.

With both title contenders having away games on Sunday, we assume more than a few City fans were hoping for their rivals to drop some points.

First Liverpool went to Craven Cottage and won 3-1. Then Arsenal dispatched Wolves at the Molineux 2-0. No luck, Cityzens, you still have plenty to do.

All 3 title chasers are in action in midweek, but City will be the last of them to play their game, away to Brighton. No pressure!

FA Cup Rarely Fails to Deliver Drama

Coventry fans could have been forgiven for not hoping for much anymore once Manchester United went 3-0 up in their semi-final game on Sunday.

Fast forward to the final whistle, both fans and players of the Championship side were probably kicking themselves a bit for failing to advance to the final.

A monumental comeback, making it 3-3 in injury time, a goal after a marginal offside ruled out by VAR at the end of extra time, and a pulsating penalty shootout were the makings of an FA Cup semi-final for the ages.

Manchester United ended up booking their tickets for next month’s final, where they will be facing their local rivals.

Manchester City Knock Out Chelsea

The FA Cup holders have Bernardo Silva to thank for him quickly gathering his wits to score their only goal on Saturday, after his penalty miss in the shootout against Real Madrid.

There were plenty of chances for Chelsea to stage an upset, but City’s pragmatism carried them through.

Relegation Fears Easing for Everton

The Toffees managed a 2-0 home win against Nottingham Forest, positioning themselves 5 points above Luton in 18th, with a game in hand.

The blue half of Liverpool could have thrown in the towel when the initial 10-point deduction came in November 2023. Instead they steeled themselves, went on a winning run, then on an underwhelming one.

Then on Sunday, when it mattered most, they came up with the goods to distance themselves from the drop.

This result does not mean that they are totally safe, mind you. But it goes a long way to ensure they will still play in the EPL come August.

Luton and Sheffield Are in Serious Trouble

Ok, it has been pretty clear for a while that the Blades will be going down this season. But the manner of their capitulation on Saturday (1-4 at home to fellow strugglers Burnley) was pathetic.

Meanwhile Luton, knowing they had more of a shot ahead of this weekend, also threw in the towel in their home 1-5 defeat to Brentford.

All this means that no team in the bottom 3 is confirmed to go down yet, but we might not have to wait much longer.

Eze and Olise Are Pretty Good, Aren’t They?

We’ll be honest: we did not find that out this weekend, we knew it for a while.

But they sure did their best to remind everyone of their quality as Palace beat West Ham 5-2 on Sunday.

What we did learn is that if you don’t have them in your Fantasy Premier League team, you should. Eberechi Eze brought 11 points to FPL managers who selected him, while Michael Olise went one better to rake in 12.

Not a bad day at the office, right?