A club who face the prospect of administration and a team in danger of relegation will play for a place in the FA Cup Final after Cardiff City were paired with Barnsley in yesterday's semi-final draw.

Portsmouth, the only Barclays Premier League club left in the competition, meet West Bromwich Albion, who are among the play-offs places in the Coca-Cola Championship, in the other semi-final. Both matches will be played at Wembley on the weekend of April 5 and 6.

Cardiff are in the High Court this week defending an action for the recovery of a £24million loan and Peter Ridsdale, the chairman, admitted that administration is a possibility if the judgment goes against them. Barnsley, meanwhile, are nineteenth in the Championship, only four points above the relegation places. But yesterday the prospect of lifting the Cup took precedence over doom and gloom.

“Everyone talks about the romance of the Cup,” Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager, said. “Year in, year out it is always the same teams that seem to be playing, but this time around it's probably the year of the underdog. Everyone wants to play a final at Wembley, but for the likes of us to go there in a semi-final is fantastic.”

For Ridsdale, who celebrates his 56th birthday today, the draw pits him against the club he previously owned, but success could mean further legal action. If Cardiff win the trophy they would not be able to claim the Uefa Cup place that is awarded by the Football Association because they are under the jurisdiction of the FA of Wales, but Ridsdale hinted yesterday that there could be a legal challenge.

Simon Davey, the Barnsley manager, who has already masterminded victories over Liverpool at Anfield in the fifth round and Chelsea at Oakwell on Saturday, believes that the draw has given his team the best possible chance of reaching their first final since 1912 and admitted that, as a Swansea native, he will be especially delighted if he can defeat his home city's biggest rivals.

“Being a Swansea lad, it'll always be nice to put Cardiff out,” he said. “I'm sure there'll be a lot of Swansea fans cheering me on. You would say we wanted to avoid the Premier League side, but we'd beaten two in the previous rounds. It's going to be a tough game for both teams. We're both trying to get into a final and it'll be a fantastic occasion.

“They're a good side but we've got to be confident after beating Liverpool and Chelsea. There's light at the end of the tunnel for both teams and we fancy our chances. We're 90 minutes away from an FA Cup Final.”

Harry Redknapp, the manager of Portsmouth, said earlier in the year that the only chance for his team to reach the final was if all the big clubs were drawn against each other, so it was almost inevitable that the football fates would conspire yesterday to pair Portsmouth with the next highest-placed team remaining in the draw.

“West Brom are a good side who look to play football and they'll be very tough opposition for us,” Redknapp said. “They were in the Premier League a few years ago and have still got some very good players like Kevin Phillips and Dean Kiely, who did great for me here.

“We weren't really concerned who we were drawn against because all the sides left deserve their place in the last four. Obviously we are favourites as the only Premier League side left in the competition, but results at the weekend show that counts for nothing. Before the weekend you would have chosen Manchester United, Chelsea and Middlesbrough to join West Brom in the semi-finals.

“For now, though, we won't be thinking about Wembley because we have some important games coming up and we want to finish as high up the table as we can. But we are 12 points behind the side in fifth place so it looks like we will have to win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe.”

Tony Mowbray, the Albion manager, was equally complimentary about Redknapp's side. “Harry has built a powerful side who are enjoying a terrific season,” he said. “We're very respectful of the talent they possess but we've earned the right to play this game and we're looking forward to the challenge.

“For the time being, our minds are fully focused on the five important league games we face before we go to Wembley - starting against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.”

The draw was especially welcomed by Luke Steele, the West Bromwich goalkeeper who is on loan to Barnsley. A series of stunning saves by Steele helped the Yorkshire side to beat Liverpool at Anfield, but if Barnsley and West Bromwich had been drawn together, he would have been unable to play.

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football