This weekend promises to be one of the most exciting for some time with the Grand National, the FA Cup semi-finals and the F1 Grand Prix not to mention the ongoing drama of promotion, relegation and championship glory in the football leagues. So who will win the FA Cup this year?

Those of you who follow football will know that Portsmouth are the only remaining Premiership Team in the FA Cup after all of the other front runners fell in the earlier rounds. Quite astonishingly we have seen Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool knocked out leaving the tournament wide open for one of the three championship teams left in the tournament. Whole the hot money must be on Portsmouth to bring the trophy home this year, they face a tricky semi-final against WBA, with Kevin Phillips on fire for the “Baggies”.

In the other semi-final we have the Yorkshire warriors Barnsley taking on the team from the valleys, Cardiff City. Both teams have had their fair share of misfortune this season with Barnsley in grave danger of being relegated and Cardiff going to the high court to hear whether a loan they took out needs to be repaid early, something which will force them into administration and may see the end of the club. In many ways the FA Cup run of the teams has taken their minds off the more pressing engagements at hand and they can both bask in the glory of Sunday’s Wembley semi-final.

Whatever happens from now until the winners lift the famous FA Cup, this years tournament has shown that the Cup is far from dead and buried. The oldest football tournament in the world is still more than capable of delivering a shock or two and events this year will give the lower league teams great heart for next season.