Liverpool confirm that the FA Cup semi-final will be played at Wembley

Despite calls for The FA to move the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Liverpool up north, both clubs have now confirmed the game will be played at Wembley.

With engineering work on the train tracks set to take place during the weekend of the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and Liverpool, it meant that both sets of fans would struggle to get down to the capital.

The whole of the North West is set to be impacted by the engineering work meaning there are no direct trains from Manchester or Liverpool to London.

A report from the Liverpool Echo also claimed that the FA were aware of the engineering work two years previously yet failed to make any amendments to help the supporters of the clubs.

The fixture has now been confirmed and despite calls from supporter groups like the Spirit of Shankley to move the venue up north, the FA have kept Wembley as the stadium it will be played at.

The match will take place on Saturday the 16th of April at 15:30 BST at Wembley Stadium and it will be live on BBC One.

Paul Joyce has also confirmed that the FA will provide 100 free return buses from Wembley to the Etihad and Anfield.

Anfield Watch Verdict

As usual, the FA put money first and fans second. Most supporters expected this response but it would've been good to see them put fans above money for once.

The 100 free buses are nice but unless each bus can fit 700 people on them then it won't put much of a dent in the 80,000 people attending Wembley.

Even though Aston Villa's stadium, Villa Park, is available during that weekend, and more than capable of hosting an FA Cup semi-final, the FA have decided against playing the fixture there.

Hopefully, the supporter groups come out and massively condemn this move by the FA as fans are the heart and soul of the game yet they are always the last to be provided for.