Brighton drew the short straw in the draw for the FA Cup semi-finals as they were paired with Pep Guardiola’s quadruple-chasing Manchester City.
Chris Hughton’s men hit back from two goals down at Millwall to win on penalties and book their place in the last four for the first time since 1983.
And the Seagulls may take heart from the fact that their march to the final 36 years ago included a 4-0 victory over City in the fourth round.
The second semi-final paired Watford with Wolves, who shocked Manchester United at Molineux on Saturday.
Hughton did not attempt to hide the fact he had been hoping to avoid a clash with City, to whom they lost 2-0 in their previous meeting this season at the Etihad Stadium in September.
Hughton told BBC Sport: “I don’t think it is any surprise that all three teams didn’t want to draw Man City but at this moment we’re so pleased to go through.
“If in any way we don’t think we can win the semi-final there’s almost no point going into it.
“We have an opportunity – we’re up against with Liverpool the best team in the country and a team that is going for four competitions, but on the day we have a chance – but we will have to get everything going our way.”
Both ties will be played at Wembley over the weekend of April 6 and 7.
