Manchester City

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Winning the FA Cup is "especially" important this season for Manchester City, says full-back Rico Lewis.

Despite a difficult season that has seen them lose their Premier League crown to new champions Liverpool, their semi-final win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday means they are in a third consecutive FA Cup final.

But when asked if winning the competition for a second time in three years was important for City, Lewis said: "Yes, definitely.

"Everyone in that changing room likes winning trophies. Nobody in there doesn't want to win an FA Cup or whatever competition we're in.

"No matter what the competition, we always want to win it. So yes, it's really important for us, especially this season.

"You never know what you're going to get in a final. It's a one-off game and we've just got to be concentrated on our game plan and everyone believe in each other."

Fourth-placed City continue to fight for a place in next season's Champions League and are one point clear of Chelsea and Forest, who also have a game in hand, in the race for the top five places.

Guardiola's side will play four matches - starting with a home fixture against Wolves on Friday - before they return to Wembley next month to face Crystal Palace. Lewis will be hope his semi-final goal earns him a spot in the Wembley final on 17 May.

"It is difficult [not playing]," Lewis added. "It has been a bit unlucky at certain stages of the season when you play in games and you don't have everyone in the team. Some people are injured and you cannot play as you normally would do.

"The whole team is discombobulating, but it is part of football, and I said this even when it was going well."

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With a number of empty seats visible at Wembley on Sunday and Pep Guardiola talking about the struggles faced by fans to attend, we asked for your views on FA Cup semi-finals at the iconic venue.

Here are some of your comments:

Jonathan: The magic of the cup has been eroded by those who are supposed to be its custodians, the FA. The need to generate money, presumably to pay for building the new Wembley, has meant semi-finals have to be played there regardless. Reaching Wembley should be the pinnacle, while neutral venue semi-finals had a magic all of their own and made it easier for fans to travel. But corporate greed again trumps tradition. The FA are responsible for destroying their own competition

Lotfi: Wembley semi-finals are still special, however, ticket prices are getting silly. It's the crowds that create the atmosphere but being a football fan has become ridiculously more expensive.

Rod: It's difficult because I understand that a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Wembley for a semi-final is great. I don't think we should get arrogant just because we've been so many times. However, I think that Wembley should be left for the final. Yes, cost is a major factor. The price of tickets should be regulated. If Wembley is to be used, why not cap it at £30 max like Premier League away games?

Ben: For City fans, Wembley isn't special anymore. It is not for any of the big teams. Ticket prices too high, plus travel costs. Taking a family is £500 minimum for the day.

Andrew: Simply put - go back to playing semis at a neutral, geographically sensible ground. Wembley is built and pretty much paid for so FA cashflow is less important than maintaining the status and reputation of the competition. Sellout semis in regional grounds is so much better than quarter-empty Wembley, which looks terrible on TV and is even worse in person.

Ian: Knowing we will have to go twice for the semi and the final, the cost is the first thing that mounts up. The second is the watering down of that Wembley experience. It used to be the big day out as you got to Wembley but to know there will be two trips involved in one cup win smacks of corporate greed. We used to have semi-finals at neutral grounds closer to the teams involved - what was wrong with that?

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With only 72,000 in attendance for the Wembley semi-final on Sunday, we are keen to hear from you.

Manager Pep Guardiola said after the game he completely understood "it's not easy" for supporters, having suggested before the match that one day the FA Cup semis could be played in the north of England.

So, what do you make of Wembley semi-finals? Are fans disillusioned? Is price a deciding factor?

Or is the FA Cup just not that important?

Let us know

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.

Here are some of your replies:

Forest fans

Bettsy: I'm so disappointed. Let's stop giving respect to City - they aren't that good. We seem to set up in fear of them. A dreadful performance in the first half. Danilo is awful. Poor Zach Abbott has zero idea how to play full-back but did nothing wrong apart from wanting to play centre-back. Nuno got it wrong but hopefully we now understand that to be at the top, we have to play our game and not worry about them.

Fosi: Nuno cost us the match! His team selection left us totally unbalanced. What on earth was he doing? He needs help selecting his team and system if this is his idea.

John: As ever, I can't fault our effort and commitment. We hit the post twice and the crossbar. Their chances went in. It wasn't meant to be. It has still been - and it still is - a fantastic season. Heads up and beat Brentford on Thursday.

Nicholas: I worry that after this poor and insipid performance, we will finish our season with a whimper rather than a roar. To have come so far and miss out on an FA Cup final, and possibly Europe, would be a harsh kick in the teeth for a team that have played well for much of the season. We simply weren't up for the occasion and bottled it.

City fans

Brian: City had the run of the green. Luck was on their side and Forest must feel that our goal was protected at all levels. But City will be full of belief now and they held on with a clean sheet. Given their really poor mid-season, this is a remarkable position to be in. They are in a great position to win the FA Cup and achieve Champions League qualification. We would have taken both at the start of this season.

John: It just shows what a toll playing too many games is having on the players. They now have energy and enjoyment they had lost in mid-season. But what a performance from Forest - good luck to them for Champions League places!

Gene: At first, I was surprised to see Rico Lewis in the line-up, and even more so when he scored. They had possession and looked comfortable, but defensively were sloppy on multiple occasions. Forest are a counter-attacking team and were unable to capitalise on City's mistakes and poor decisions. The match could have gone either way, so City were fortunate to leave with the win.

Krish: It was quite good back to our old ways. Lewis was brilliant and so was Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic. Hopefully, Erling Haaland and Rodri get a bit of playing time against Southampton.

Manchester City are expected to move for Italy and Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso, 25, with the Italian club turning their attention to Arsenal's Portuguese defender Nuno Tavares, 25, who is on loan at Lazio. (Sun, external)

Meanwhile, Chelsea are pushing hard to seal the signing of Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, 19, but face competition from Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United for the Turkey international. (Caught Offside, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been talking to BBC Sport after his side sealed their spot in the FA Cup final: "They pushed a little bit more in the second half, we knew it would happen. We lost some balls and the fatigue was there.

"The ball, the way it bounces for both sides is difficult to control. But we managed it and I am really pleased to be in the FA Cup final again."

On Rico Lewis' early goal: "The action was really good. Rico moves into the pockets like very few players, he is very good in the small areas. He is an extraordinary player. He is so strong and so clever."

On whether it was Mateo Kovacic's best game of the season: "No, the last game against Aston Villa he was extraordinary. If you put players close to him, it helps him and his composure is really good."

On facing Crystal Palace in the final: "Just take a look at what they did yesterday. We played them a few weeks ago and they were 2-0 up.

"The pace they have up front is brilliant and they have an extraordinary manager. They have so much physicality and experience. Hopefully it will be better than last season in the final against Manchester United."

On how the season will be viewed if they win the FA Cup and finish in the Champions League spots: "Champions League is the most important thing. That would limit the damage because this season has not been good.

"I want to say thank you to our fans. I know how difficult it is to come here with work tomorrow, the tickets and the travel. I can't thank them enough - and hopefully they will join us and see us in the final."

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Manchester City goalscorer Rico Lewis has been speaking to ITV after opening the scoring at Wembley: "I am over the moon with the goal, it's a position I like to play. Today was a tough game but we showed a different side to our game where we can survive and get through it.

"We have so many midfielders who can keep the ball and that allows the front men to have more freedom."

On what winning the FA Cup would mean: "A lot. We showed character today, and this season we have shown character. It's not been smooth sailing but we have picked ourselves up and shown we are a top team.

"We have top players and we can get through tough situations. Now we are on the up, we can take it into next season."

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Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has been speaking to ITV following the result: "It was a deserved win for us. From the first minute, we scored the goal with Rico [Lewis]. They are a strong team and they had a few chances, but it is a deserved win and we are happy for another final."

On what has changed now that Manchester City are unbeaten in eight games: "We have found ourselves again. The team is getting stronger and everyone is 100% focused.

"A lot of players came back very strong. When we are all back, we are a strong team. This season has not been how we wanted, but we are in another FA Cup final and in the top four [in the Premier League]."

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Manchester City have qualified for their 14th FA Cup final in their history. Four of those have come under current manager Pep Guardiola, with only Chelsea (5) reaching more finals in the competition since he took charge of the club.

With his second-minute opener, Rico Lewis (20 years and 157 days) became the youngest player to score for Manchester City at Wembley since Steve MacKenzie in May 1981 (19 years and 172 days) in the FA Cup final against Tottenham.

Josko Gvardiol has scored 11 goals for Manchester City across all competitions, the joint-most by a defender for a Premier League club since the start of last season alongside Newcastle United's Fabian Schar (11).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

The second FA Cup semi-final of the weekend takes place on Sunday live from Wembley and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester City (16:30)

Listen to the match on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra here

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Pep Guardiola's team selection will be absolutely crucial here.

Both of Manchester City's goals against Aston Villa on Tuesday came from their players being prepared to run at defenders - firstly Omar Marmoush and then Jeremy Doku, who had started the game on the bench.

But Pep appears to be very cautious at the moment, and has not been using his out-and-out wingers, Doku or Savinho, very much because he wants to try to control the middle of the pitch.

Doku and Savinho both started when Forest beat City at the beginning of March, which was City's last defeat, seven games ago, but it's unlikely that they will both start at Wembley.

That does not make this tie any easier to call, though.

Forest bounced back from a couple of defeats with a win over Tottenham on Monday, which was a huge result for their top-five hopes, and we know the way they are set up to counter-attack can cause City problems.

I am not just saying this because Forest were my boyhood team, but I want anyone but City to win the FA Cup this season.

I've got nothing against City but it would be a great story if any of the other three teams won it because they have either not won anything for so long or, in Crystal Palace's case, they have never won a major trophy at all.

Despite that, I just have a feeling that City are going to put in a good performance here, and earn the right to reach their third straight FA Cup final.

As much I hate to say it, I am expecting Pep to find a way to win, the same way they did against Everton and Aston Villa - although I hope I am wrong. My predictions are so bad at the moment, there is a good chance I will be.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Pep Guardiola says that winning the FA Cup would be a "good" way for Kevin de Bruyne to end his Manchester City career.

De Bruyne recently announced he will be leaving the club in the summer after a decade.

Speaking before City's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday (16:30 BST), Guardiola said: "He has proved [himself by] the amount of minutes he has played since he announced that it is the last month for him at Manchester City.

"Yeah, it would be good."

The 33-year-old midfielder said this week that it was the club's decision not to renew his contract beyond this season.

Responding to this in the same news conference, Guardiola said: "I said the reason why."

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Earlier, we asked you to name the current Manchester City player from a series of clues.

The correct answer is Jack Grealish.