Ian Wright says he’d be ‘devastated’ if one team reached the FA Cup final | Football

Ian Wright has admitted he would be ‘devastated’ if one club reached the FA Cup final, with the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa vying to win the famous trophy.

The FA Cup quarter-finals are taking place this weekend with Crystal Palace defeating Fulham 3-0 in the first of four tantalising games.

Goals from Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah booked the Eagles’ place in the semi-finals, though they were somewhat fortunate to have 10 men on the pitch after Adam Wharton made a number of rash fouls.

The south Londoners now go into the draw for the final four which will be conducted on Sunday, and there is a chance they will face fierce rivals Brighton and Hove Albion.

The south coast side host fellow Premier League high-fliers Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.

Brighton are enjoying yet another impressive season which has earned them plenty of admirers but Wright does not want them to advance further in the FA Cup out of fear they will knock out his beloved Palace.

Asked about the prospect of an Eagles vs Seagulls semi-final at Wembley, the former Arsenal striker told ITV: ‘That would be amazing. It’s a derby if you’re a Brighton or Palace fan.

‘I remember those and they were pretty intense, but I wouldn’t like to see that because that would be too nervy for me!

‘I’d rather us get Forest and beat them because if Brighton beat Palace I’d be devastated!’

While unusual given the distance between the two clubs, Palace and Brighton are each other’s biggest rivals, with animosity between the two beginning in the 1970s.

The semi-final draw will also feature the winners of Preston North End vs Aston Villa and Bournemouth vs Manchester City.

Palace have reached two FA Cup finals, with Wright scoring a brace in the 1990 edition which they lost to Manchester United in a replay, and have never won a major trophy in their 164-year history.

‘We’ve just entered the crunch time, the last two months, and of course it’s always good entering the crunch time with a win,’ Eagles boss Oliver Glasner said after the win at Craven Cottage.

‘But at the end we didn’t achieve nothing at the moment, so it’s always stay humble and keep working, and not just now talking about Wembley.

‘It’s great, I think everybody should enjoy this weekend, especially our fans, they have a long weekend to celebrate, they should do it, but we start preparing for Southampton [in the Premier League] tomorrow, because we need to be in our best shape playing the semi-finals.

‘Therefore we can’t say we switch off the next four weeks and then switch on again, so we will really keep working hard and then going for three points at Southampton.’

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