Sheffield United and Man City-mad couple travel 3,000 miles for FA Cup semi-final clash

While the pre-Wembley nerves are beginning to kick in for some Sheffield United fans, Blades-mad Shaun Littler has more reason than most to hope his side can do the business against Manchester City this weekend - with his wife joking that their marriage rests on it!

Handsworth-born Shaun and his wife Caroline have flown 3,000 miles back to England from their home in Boston, USA, and will take in the game at Wembley during their stay. The catch is that Caroline is a diehard City fan, and the two will watch their teams go head-to-head from opposite sides of the national stadium.

Their story has captured the imagination ahead of the game, with a number of outlets conducting interviews with the pair in the lead-up to the game. “We’ve been together for 14 years and married for six,” Shaun told The Star. “Caroline’s been saying to the family that it’s been nice knowing them and things like that, in case we win. I told her to be careful or people will start believing it!

“She is a proper City fan, to be fair, from before the oil money, and it’ll be an interesting journey back up north with a car full of City fans. If they win, it’ll be like: ‘Well done, you beat a Championship side’. If we win, they’ll never hear the end of it and they’ll probably chuck me out on the M6!

“We’re driving down separately, but we’ll meet up for a drink before the game. My nephew’s six and it’s his first trip away from Bramall Lane, so he’s excited.”

The pair moved Stateside eight months ago when Shaun, a financial recruiter, had the opportunity to relocate when his company opened a Boston office. “I told Caroline I’d been offered a job in America and asked if she wanted to go,” he remembered. “And she just said: ‘Yeah!’

“We thought it was a great opportunity and we’re loving it so far. We came back earlier this month and I went away to Burnley, and then 24 hours later she took me to City v Bayern in the Champions League!

“We always have a little joke, she takes me to see Bayern and Real Madrid and I take her to Barnsley and Rotherham. Once she took me to see PSG and then we went to watch United v Barnsley soon after. From one extreme to the other.

“To be fair, Caroline loves it. It reminds her of when City were in the lower leagues.”

Things are different now, with City possessing a remarkably-talented and deep squad that will cause United problems no matter who boss Pep Guardiola picks on Saturday. Striker Erling Haaland scored his 48th goal of the season against Bayern earlier this week to book United’s passage to the Champions League semi-finals but with a potential title-decider against Arsenal next Wednesday evening, Shaun is hoping the Norwegian superstar is rested to the bench.

“My head says it’ll finish 5-0 to City, my heart says 1-0 to United,” Shaun added. “But there are a lot of contributing factors. I’m hoping they rest some players and give us a chance. If they play the big guns, then it could be a bit embarrassing.”

The semi-final is particularly poignant for the pair, who actually met for the first time at a Blades v City game at Bramall Lane back in 2006 after meeting online as friends. “I was in the home end, she was in the away end and we were shouting to each other over the fence,” Shaun remembered. “I asked a steward if I could go round to speak to her and he said no!

“But here we are. We’re heading back Thursday morning, after what could be a huge night with City playing Arsenal and United hopefully winning promotion. If that happens, we’ll both be celebrating on the flight back, no matter what happens at Wembley.”