Oli McBurnie makes honest Sheffield United admission on Man City FA Cup draw | OneFootball

Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie has admitted that their FA Cup semi-final draw against Manchester City isn't "ideal" but it will provide his team with an "exciting challenge" as they look to make it through to the last stage of the competition, speaking to The Star.

Finding themselves 2-1 down against Blackburn Rovers in the last eight earlier this month, an equaliser from the forward and Tommy Doyle's long-range strike allowed the Blades to book their place at Wembley and looked set to face a Premier League opponent.

Either going up against Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United or Man City, the South Yorkshire outfit were drawn against the latter who have enjoyed real success under Pep Guardiola during the ex-Bayern Munich manager's time at the Etihad Stadium.

Winning the FA Cup back in 2019 with a 6-0 victory over Watford, they are the team to have won the cup most recently out of the remaining quartet in the competition and are currently in fierce competition with Arsenal for the Premier League title.

The Blades, meanwhile, are looking to retain their place in the top two of the Championship with both potentially welcoming the distraction of the cup to get away from the strain of their respective league objectives.

And McBurnie believes this upcoming clash against the top-tier giants is the type of game his team should want to be involved in.

He said: "I’ve never played there [Wembley] at all so it’ll be a first for me and I was surprised how many of the boys have never played there. It’s exciting.

"It wasn’t the ideal draw, but it’s an exciting challenge. You want to play against the best teams and I said before, I think they’re the best in the world."

The Verdict:

All three potential fixtures were going to be tough for Paul Heckingbottom's men anyway so they shouldn't feel too down about drawing the Citizens.

However, you could understand if there was a tinge of disappointment because Tommy Doyle and James McAtee are likely to be ineligible for this game and considering the duo have been key players for United, that's a real blow.

If they had faced Brighton, they could have easily been walked over with the Seagulls claiming an excellent 5-0 away win against Middlesbrough earlier on in the campaign, with Erik ten Hag's United also determined to win silverware having won the EFL Cup earlier this term.

Heckingbottom could use the underdog tag to his side's advantage though - because there won't be too much pressure on them on the day and that could allow the team to express themselves at Wembley.